The Legendary Titans of Gaia
by Zeng Li
Summary: The Shinra vs Wutai war has been over for 3 years, but a secret society in Wutai thinks it has the magical power it lacked years ago to defeat Shinra. Tseng gets caught in the middle to 2 factions and essentially 2 worlds.
1. Chapter 1

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter One:  
__"Broken Glass"_

_Author's notes on this fic and the Junior Turks:_

_1. The ONLY "Before Crisis" Turks I'm using are Rod and Klaus. Rod is the one with reddish hair that resembles Reno, and Klaus is the male with 2-tone hair color. Elena is ELENA, from FF7…not the blonde BC girl. I go by the assumption that she was a junior Turk 3 years before FF7 and gets promoted in-game._

_2. This fic is VERY alternate-universe and does not conform rigidly to FF7 or any of its related games/movies. Though I do pull common themes and places, as the author, I have taken creative license in making a fic that exists "apart" from the cannon FF7 events. (And YES, if you use materia to mend a physical injury, it hurts like HECK for about 30 seconds while the magic does its work, but afterwards it's usually gone almost completely.)_

_3. I do not know why reformats my section breaks, but I have attempted to correct them here. I will try to correct other chapters later, but I use dial-up service and successfully uploading ANYthing is hit-or-miss at best. If these fics are difficult to read, they are ALSO posted on my personal website…see address in my profile page._

_4. FYI – the Master Eye is not the same as the Third Eye. The Master Eye goes a step beyond the Third Eye (which everyone has) and is more focused and stronger than the Third Eye. It is actually located to the left and right of the Third Eye in the form of 2 "eyes" (one above each eyebrow.) People possessing such an "eye" are usually mystics or clairvoyants. The mysticism in this fic is based on real beliefs, but are modified for fiction use._

- - -

"Sir…you wanted any posts that came in from Wutai, correct?" the junior operative said as she stood in front of the desk of the Turks' commanding officer.

Tseng took the print out and scanned it with mild interest. Although it had been his special request to the special team that supported the Turks, he was getting tired of the usually laughable posts from his native country that bounty hunter guilds broadcast. The nation had too much pride and too much resentment over being defeated in the long-running war that had ended just a few years ago. They wanted to show the world that they were strong and needed no one, despite the fact their once glorious nation was reduced to a tourist trap and the government in desperate need of capital.

The only bounty hunter guild posts that came from Wutai were done by individuals, usually seeking heirlooms stolen by Shinra soldiers. As Tseng's eyes scanned the report, he expected it to be yet another of that type. Disinterested, he shoved the papers back at the intelligence operative standing opposite his desk. His hand, however, stopped and drew the papers back in his direction before the woman was able to reclaim them.

"Well, well…" Tseng said, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at the printed photo in the upper right hand side of the post. He placed the paper flat on the desk and tagged a spot on the photograph with his index finger. The blond operative leaned her hands on his desk and looked at what he was pointing to. Tseng leaned back against his chair again, finger never leaving the photo. "This wouldn't mean much to most people living in Midgar." His finger tapped the photo before withdrawing entirely. "But those of us who can read Wutanese script…"

Elena looked at the photo and to the specific part that Tseng had been pointing to. Upside down or right side up, it all looked the same to her. Pictographic written language…characters that were non-descript and alien looking to a person from the eastern continents…

"Sorry, sir…" Elena shrugged.

"Fear not," Tseng smiled, but that smile quickly faded. His eyes narrowed again, and he drew the print off closer to himself. "I don't understand why this has been posted on a bounty hunter's guild."

"We get stuff like that periodically, no?" Elena asked.

"Not from _these _guys…" Tseng's eyes locked onto the picture, scanning it for tell-tale signs of authenticity. "_This _is exactly why I've asked to have a look at anything posted from Wutai. But I don't understand why they're only offering a 30,000 gil reward."

"That's a lot of money, sir. Uh, for _most_ people anyway…" Elena said. "What is it? Why is it so special?"

"It's just these Wutanese characters. I'm sorry, Elena…" Tseng lifted the pages off his desk and walked past her and out of the office. Elena watched him go, no surprise that once again Tseng was going to be cryptic or secretive about details. She wasn't discouraged, as her position as a supporting team to the Turks offered potential that she, one day, might be promoted into their ranks.

- - -

As obligated by the corporate structure of which his group was a part, Tseng brought the information to the army's commanding officer. He did so with bitterness and dislike of General Heidegger, who had done nothing more with the Turks but virtually destroy them and knock them down a bar since assuming the role as their ultimate supervisor.

"It may look like an ordinary, yet possibly expensive, bracelet," Tseng told Heidegger as he looked over the guild's post. "But the Wutanese inscription in the photograph is clearly the mark of Wutai's secret society which was formed during the war."

Heidegger laughed. "They're desperate," he said, his voice gritty as usual. He placed the documents back on the table in front of Tseng. "Offering 30,000 Gil for the trinket and 10,000 for the capture and return of some man accused of stealing it? What will they do if they get him? Brand him with a black dot on his forehead? Gyaa haa haa haaa…"

Tseng fought hard to keep the muscles of his face from narrowing his eyes and scowling at the general. Over the years, the Turk had grown less mindful of the black mark he beared and what it ultimately meant. He'd also grown all that much more tolerant of his superior's habit of rubbing its thorny reminder into his skin, but he still didn't have to like it.

"I fail to see why you think this is worth the Turks' time, especially since the Wutanese wouldn't feel like transferring their government's precious funds to Midgar for ShinRa's wallet. Gyaa haa haa... I didn't even know they _had_ that kind of money to throw around to the riff-raff of bounty hunter guilds..."

"Sir," Tseng started.

"Don't waste the Turks' time on this crap."

"I assure you, sir, anything relating to this secret society _is _worth our time and _should _be looked into. We already have our hands full with Avalanche. The last thing we need is Wutai causing us problems and igniting another war."

"We have the Wutai situation under control!" Heidegger barked. "You really want to collect the reward on this junk, go ahead. Just don't let it get in the way of your primary objective and assignments here in Midgar or anywhere else."

"Yes, sir…" Tseng didn't push the issue any further with Heidegger. The man was a lost cause and probably President Shinra's biggest yes-man. Though as the Turks leader walked away, he thought about the artifact and the reward…and realized that he had no intention of actually cashing in the Gil reward for the return of either the item or the man.

- - -

Tseng returned to the Turks' headquarters and immediately called his two best operatives into a meeting.

Reno and Rude promptly arrived, certain before they even got there that they'd have a new mission for the afternoon.

In the short time it took for the Turks to arrive in the conference room, Tseng had dug up electronic information and scans of the artifact and the suspected thief for whom there was a cash reward as well. Everything his operatives needed were displayed on the room's main monitor and were downloaded to their cell phones.

"Heidegger has given us permission to pursue this. Rather hesitantly, I may add…and on the condition that it doesn't interfere with our main objective of tracking and spying on Avalanche. The rewards totaling forty thousand Gil actually mean little to me." Tseng said. "This thing is priceless to Wutai."

"Sounds like it's priceless to you, too," said Reno. "Why is it so important?"

Tseng clasped his hands behind his back, his silver eyes narrowing in the dimly lit room. "Secret societies exist in many corners of the world. Most are harmless or even rather ridiculous. Wutai, however, took the war and their subsequent defeat very seriously. The Temple of New Light, as is inscribed on this otherwise normal looking materia-carrying bracelet…is not a faction that we should ignore. I have failed to bring Shinra's attention to them in the past, and for good reason. I'm sure you would both agree that the president can get touchy about signs of life within the government or military of Wutai. We have only been at peace for 3 years now, but I still think that right now President Shinra would jump at the chance to reignite the war."

"We're up against an underground Wutanese faction?" asked Reno. "Sounds like Avalanche all over again, just half way around the globe."

Tseng shook his head. "Avalanche knows we're after them. The Temple of New Light doesn't think they have any enemies on this side of the world. Unfortunately, there's me…and being from that nation, I'm familiar with some things that most easterners aren't. Though it's no secret that Wutai has been on some compulsive kick collecting materia. Good for commerce, good for keeping their national pride's flame going…but bad for Shinra.

The reports show that their thief was seen around the Midgar area. Sounds like he knows that this is the one place Wutai and the temple won't send troops to hunt him down." Tseng tapped a few buttons on the keyboard that controlled the video images behind him. A 3-D rendering of the wide, golden bracelet slowly rotated on the monitor showing all it's sides. "It's merely an opportunity. I doubt Wutai is ready to mount an offensive against Shinra at this time. Any artifacts or information we can gather on them _now _will help us for if the day comes that we find ourselves battling them again."

Reno pointed to the screen. "That thing…what the hell is it that Wutai is offering 30,000 for its return? Guessing it belongs to that temple society thing…"

Tseng shrugged. "It's priceless. The rewards offered for the return or recovery of lost jewelry are alluring…to low-end or desperate bounty hunters. This one is alluring too, I'm sure. But by comparison, this artifact is a diamond hidden within a bag of broken glass."

"Got any leads for us?" Reno asked. "It's a big city…assuming this thief character is hiding among it."

"Not right now. I'll have intelligence on the job and plain clothes operatives walking the slums. There are no ways up to plate level from the ground unless one first travels through the slums, so already we've narrowed the search to half the geographic area. The personal ID detection system on the trains will take care of the rest should he move to plate level. Until then, I think Sector 5 is the best place for you to start."

"We'll say hi to Aeris for you…" Reno grinned.

"Dismissed!" Tseng snapped, in no mood for Reno's ribbing today.

- - -

"Chigaru, was it?" Don Corneo asked his guest, as if finally taking interest in the proposition the man of that name had presented to the wealthy slum dweller. "It's not every day a man comes to me to sell me something…heh…unless it's a female…" Corneo and his cronies that surrounded him laughed. "But…" the laughter abruptly stopped. "…never before has anyone come to me trying to sell something which he calls a national treasure. I find that…disturbing."

"All I need is enough money to start a new life for myself. Which is why I'm asking such a…low price." The Wutanese man was young and appeared to be free spirited. He acted humble, but the Don had seen many kinds and was no sucker.

"Low price, you say?" Don held the gold bracelet, studying it's various sides a second time. "Twenty thousand Gil is a _low_ price? I'm not a fool. I know that the government of Wutai is offering _thirty_ for this thing. If I'm gonna make a profit on this, I'm not buying it for any more than _ten_ thousand."

Chigaru put on a desperate face. "But…that's not enough for me to live off of."

"Well, you should've thought of that _before_ you came to the slums of Midgar." Don turned his back on the thief, trusting his cronies to keep an eye on the visitor. "You could cash in the thirty thousand Gil reward yourself and it's still not enough to buy your way onto the plate level. If you hang out in the slums with that kind of cash, word will get around. People who find out you have more money than them will want to take it from you." He turned back to Chigaru, now a few paces farther away from him. "I will give you _twelve_ thousand Gil for it, no more. If that is unacceptable to you, I could always just hang onto you _and_ this trinket, and turn you _both_ in for the full forty thousand Gil reward."

The Wutanese man's shoulders slumped in pending surrender.

Corneo's chief subordinate, Scotch, came bounding into the room from an adjacent chamber. "It is done…" he said, giving a half hearted salute to his master.

Don turned to his visitor. "You're best to take the twelve thousand now… I know some people on plate level who are interested in such items, and people such as yourself. The Turks will be showing up. Whether you're here or not at the time is your problem."

"What Turks?" the visitor asked.

"None of your concern, but certainly I have connections and some people up above who pay me to have eyes and ears in Wall Market, and just about anywhere in the sectors that surround us." Don turned to one of his other lackeys who ran behind the foyer's counter and keyed up a magnetic card, adding 12,000 Gil of credit to it. Corneo kept his hands on the artifact while the Gil was given to Chigaru.

Chigaru bowed as he accepted the payment card. "Thank you… I will be leaving now."

The visitor's thumb curled into his palm, and soon, Don's goon collapsed to the floor, the victim of a tranquilizer dart.

Scotch and Neil drew their weapons, but the Wutanese man was faster, whipping a pair of feather darts at Don's guards. The guards parried, and Chigaru rushed them. Their hand pistols scattered across the floor and under red curtains on the far side of the room. The Wutan simultaneously knife-handed both of Don's remaining men, stunning them both and forcing them to the ground. He turned to the Don.

Corneo backed up with his palms in front of him like a trapped rat.

Chigaru smiled. "I'd do to you what I've done to the others, but you…said the magic word…" He leapt forward and snatched the bracelet back from the cowardice Don and darted out of the brothel.

"You idiots! After him!" Don yelled at his fallen men.

Scotch and Neil coughed to clear their abused throats, neither able to get up yet.

Don reached onto his counter and retrieved his cell phone.

- - -

Rude and Reno walked into the brothel, a scene of minor personal crisis for the curator of the only so-called mansion in the slums. Corneo was frantic. Neil and Scotch were trying desperately to muster up enough strength to fetch weapons from a side room and join the Don's out-and-about people in Sector 6 to intercept the thief before he got away. They crossed the entering Turks in the foyer as they ran out into Wall Market.

"I underestimated that rat!" Corneo blurted out the second he spotted the Turks.

Rude's face was blank as ever, and Reno quirked an eyebrow. "Well, hello to you too…" said the red-head.

"He got away with the artifact…and _my money!_" the fat pimp nearly threw himself at Reno, grabbing the lapels of the Turk's blazer in his fists.

Reno's feet braced him in place, hands coming up but not shoving the Don away just yet. "Turnabout's fair play," said Reno. "Deal with shady characters, and expect to be stabbed in the back some times."

"I did, I did, I did…" the insecure man shook Reno a little, still clutching the blazer in his fat fingers.

"This has been our best lead," Rude said calmly. "We must not fail now."

Reno turned his head to his partner, taking his eyes off of Don Corneo for just a moment. The Don gripped Reno's blazer harder and yanked the Turk towards him. Reno was finally ready to strike him away when Corneo fell to his knees, hands finally releasing the garment.

"Oh please, please, _please_…" he begged at Reno's feet. "Find him… My men in Wall Market are looking for him, but I trust you guys even more. Tseng will have my head if he gets away."

Reno stepped back from the blubbering man and straightened his blazer. "Yeah, sure…" he said casually. "Shinra doesn't care about this guy, the jewelry, or the reward. It's Tseng's little obsession. But you're lucky you survived, Corneo… Tseng reported to us a few moments ago that this Chigaru guy has gone to other higher profile slum figures to pawn off the bracelet. He took their money then killed them and moved on to make another sale He's easily made over 25,000 Gil today alone."

Corneo paled even more than his fair, sun-deprived skin was colored.

Rude silently exchanged an orb of materia in his bangle with one from his pocket. "We should go."

"Yes, yes…" Don got back to his feet. "Take this," he handed his communicator their way. "This'll keep you in contact with a dozen or so of my men…"

Reno just turned his back. "What, you don't think _we_ can monitor your transmissions on our own?"

Rude turned away too, and together the Turks strolled casually out of the slum manor.

"Don't forget to retrieve my money card from him too!" Don called behind them. "And if he's got money on him from other swindled sales, tell Tseng I'd appreciate a cut of that too!"

Outside and out of the pimp's sight, the Turks scanned the area. "This part of Wall Market is a dead-end," said Reno, all too familiar with the lay-out of the settlement. The tall concrete wall divided the hub and secured locations from the living areas of the slums.

A rumble like thunder echoed throughout the sector, clearly coming from farther away. Industrial and Mako reactor sounds were not uncommon, but this one subtly demanded more notice. Eyes diverted to the air space visible over the cluster of shops ahead of them. There was an orange flickering glow beyond the roof tops and an increasing plume of gray smoke.

"Suspect it's related?" asked Reno, his feet already moving him forward. Rude moved too, picking up the pace into a steady run in the direction of the activity.

A careening pinpoint of light rose over the market place. The Turks paid it some attention as they jumped over exposed pipes and other random debris strewn about the path from Don's to the market sector. They dodged a few transfixed civilians as the glow became brighter, and finally they stopped to watch as well.

The arcing glow was the comet tail of a missile, and is whooshed overhead and rapidly dove behind the boundary of shops in the northern section of the market. An explosion soon followed as it appeared to have struck the graffitied giant wall east of Don's mansion.

"What the hell?" Reno asked, starting to walk forward again, still pondering the mysterious rocket.

"Tseng didn't say anything about this guy using military ordinance."

The Turks started running towards the origin point of the projectile. "No, but we know Don and his men have some rather interesting arsenals. I say it's related."

Scotch and Neil came running towards the Turks from the southern part of Wall Market. "Where's the Don?" asked the frantic Scotch. "That thief has taken over one of his weapon machines!" They ran past the Turks back north towards the brothel.

"Um…" Reno started to ponder.

"Let's go," Rude said, running again in their current southerly heading.

Leaving Wall Market, one could only head south thanks to mounds of debris and walls that surrounded a semi-abandoned construction site. They could hear an inefficient engine humming just beyond an abandoned child's park, but before anything suspicious or otherwise came into view, another small missile rocketed overhead, headed in a similar direction to the first.

"Bloody hell…" Reno hissed, whipping out his Electro Mag Rod and charging it for battle. He and Rude picked their way through the park and south to the disorganized construction sight.

They found the source of the engine sound, and it wasn't anything with wheels.

"What the hell is that…?" Reno asked, staring at the red-roofed machine and an injured one of Don's men limping as far away from it as possible.

"One of Don's machines?"

"Commandeered by a mad man? Why the hell does Corneo have armed machines that big and destructive anyway? Almost serves him right to be done in by it."

"Worry about it later," Rude said plainly.

Reno nodded, observing that the machine had what could possibly be battle damage already. The mobile weapon was the basic shape of a house transformed into a foot-pod standing mass of weapons and armored panels. A missile launcher that had rose out of an opened roof hatch lowered itself back inside the machine, apparently for reloading.

"Guess he does try to kill buyers he took money from," Reno said. "Annoying as he is, Shinra really can't afford to lose the Don." The machine and its operator seemed interested in launching at long range targets and probably didn't see the Turks. Reno got as close as he dared to the noisy machine, extending his rod out towards it and unleashing an fireball from his weapon.

The elemental blast dispersed off the front armor shingles of the mechanical house. From the outside, the attack seemed ineffective against the armored machine.

"If that's the thief, surely he has the item Tseng is interested in," Rude said, his bass voice carrying over the grinding hum of the animated house's motor. Black smoke billowed out of the rear engine compartment of the machine, wafting diesel fumes over everywhere of the construction zone.

"Serves the Don right for having weapons like this strewn about Sector 6. Knew _some_ day someone would use them against him."

"He's a valuable informant…" Rude reminded, crouched on a berm next to Reno. The operator of the machine either hadn't spotted them yet or wasn't interested. Lucky the machine was too large to fit through the northern gate and probably couldn't maneuver into the market area to wreck havoc. The Turks didn't know how accurate the long range weapons were, nor whether the second missile had hit its intended target or not.

"We're fighting in vain if the brothel's already leveled," said Reno, scanning his collection of materia orbs for something that might put a dent in a machine's armor.

"Tseng's orders…" Rude stood up, happy with his own configuration of bangle-mounted materia.

Reno scurried behind a stack of wooden crates nearby. "Yeah, yeah… Gonna take more than fist-fighting to bring this machine down." He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a small metal grenade the size of a golf ball.

"Is it really such a good idea to draw its attention…?" Rude asked, sensing Reno's intent.

Reno just shrugged. He peered around the corner of the crates in time to see the roof of the house machine opening and another missile prepared on the launcher that rose up out of it.

"I dunno, Rude… How much faith you got in me?"

His partner shot him a questioning glance.

The young Turk set the timing mechanism on the explosive. Reno pulled the stem pin out of the ballistic grenade and whipped it high in the air in an arc so that it would come down as straight as possible and, with luck, at a time in sync with it's detonator.

The grenade exploded at a point above the missile launcher. The house seemed to partially stumble on its foot pods, a sign that the operator inside of it was now clearly informed of the Turks' presence. Reno and Rude crouched down, their senses tuned to observing the sounds the machine made in hopes of decoding its next move even if they couldn't see it.

The missile on its roof, still apparently functional, could easily be shot their way to carpet-bomb the area for any pests. The thought hit the Turks at the same time, and neither had to say a word to know what the other was thinking.

Insanity and battle tactics sometimes merge in ways that make them look inseparable. Both Turks ran towards the house machine, Reno's rod crackling with electrical energy, and Rude's hand lighting up with the aura of pending magical discharge.

Rude acted first, leaping off an old building foundation. Pile-driving his glowing fist into the ground, he unleashed Quake elemental magic. An etheral shock wave rippled up in golden light as its energy cascaded through the Earth, scarring a line of upturned soil on its path towards the intended target. The culmination of raw magical power burst upward from underneath the armed house. A devastating blow was dealt, the machine losing physical balance on its less-armored foot pods. When the cloud of dust and debris settled, the heavy machine was still "standing", but one of its four foot pods was destroyed causing its stance to falter slightly.

Reno looked over at his partner. "You okay?" he asked, knowing full well just how much of one's own etheric power it took to unleash such elemental force.

Rude nodded and waved Reno on.

Reno darted alongside the semi-crippled machine and jabbed his Electro Mag Rod in a gap in damaged armor plating. Lightning crackled around the weapon and its weilder, the Turk safe from its voltage with appropriate Lightning-nullifying materia equipped on his person. His follow-up blow to Rude's Earth elemental had no apparent effect. Reno backed off in one leap, apparently a little sore from the kick-back the deflected energy dealt him. He stood to the side, flanking it and feeling a little bit safer by not being in the line of sight of what appeared to be the front of the vehicular house. The armored panels, however, were jointed and not well maintained, showing small but potentially significant weaknesses.

Reno had another grenade and found a gap between panels that it would fit in. He'd have to set it and run, but speed was always his best strength.

Pipes exiting the front of the vehicle were not used for exhaust, but were indeed weapons. Reno set the grenade between armor plates and ran off just as a purple smoke began to stream out of the frontal pipes that he'd been standing too close to.

The thick smoke enveloped Reno in its cloud before the Turk could get away.

Reno's last thought was to run, but dizziness in his head made executing the intent impossible. He fell over, gasping for oxygen while instead inhaling even more of the poison gas. His fingers clawed the dry dirt ground in vain as his consciousness threatened to leave him every second.

His fall didn't escape Rude's vision. The bald Turk righted himself after mentally recovering from his magical attack. He instinctually drew his gun despite earlier thoughts that his relatively small caliber pistol would do little against an armor-plated machine.

"You act like I want to fight you…" a voice came from speakers obviously equipped in the weapon house.

Rude's feet slid him to a halt, staring down the front of the machine as it loomed over him. "You hurt my partner," the standing Turk aimed his pistol, looking for a view port or other possible weak spot on the machine.

"I've earned a lot of money selling this artifact over and over again to saps willing to hand over some cash, but it seems the slums are not the best places to look for buyers."

"Shinra doesn't want to buy it either," Rude said coldly. He fired his gun at a black panel that may have been a tinted view port.

"Don't be so difficult, Turk…" The machine moved again, stomping one of its three remaining foot pods towards Rude.

In the side of his vision, Rude could see Reno's crumpled, barely moving form as the purple haze dispersed around him. The Turk sacrificed a potential good shot at the walking house in order to move into a position to better defend his fallen partner. Reno coughed violently in ways that told Rude that the poison was not any simple toxin that a dose of Esuna magic could cure.

At the same time, it wouldn't hurt.

Rude cast the healing spell for what ever good it could do. Afterwards, he still felt energized and checked the materia that glowed in his 6-slot bangle.

His Earth materia glowed faintly. Next to it was a much healthier, fully charged Lightning orb. "I will not hesitate to kill you, for the reward on your head is nominal by my standards."

"Is that really necessary?" the voice came back, definitely holding a Wutanese accent in it. "Once I eliminate that sap who paid me nicely for nothing, then you and I can talk…" The machine oriented itself so that it's roof-mounted missile was again aimed north towards Wall Market.

"I don't like to talk…" Rude grumbled, the surge of emerald ether glowing around him. The level 2 Lightning materia in his bangle lent him its power and mysticism of the Ancients to command such natural forces. Rude channeled his own life and vitality into the spell as well, focusing his entire being on the magic. His heart-felt devotion to his fallen partner…his sworn duty as a Turk…Tseng's earlier emphasis on the importance of not letting the artifact leave Midgar… Cosmic forces surrounded his physical manifestation and super-charged the orb of materia beyond its natural limits.

Lightning, hundreds of times more powerful than that found in natural weather systems, crashed down around him. Deafening blasts of thunder crashed with concussive shockwaves, echoes howling throughout probably all of Midgar as the sound remained trapped beneath the metal plates of the city above. The main bolt flashed atop the hell machine, the missile mounted on top exploding and sending debris scattering as the machine started to blow apart. Rolling echoes screamed throughout the slums even after the elemental attack was over.

The sound of the over-stressed materia orb shattering in the bangle slot went unheard.

The house was smoldering, most of its side wall armor still intact, but its power plant and fuel source totally decimated. The disabled machine collapsed , crushing its remaining foot pods under its falling weight.

Rude faltered to one knee, his sacrifice leaving him drained. He looked indifferently at the remains, somewhat only vaguely aware of the magnitude of the attack he'd unleashed to put it in its present state. A glow off to one side caught his eye. It was Reno.

The fallen Turk was curled up on his side, completely encased in an amber, pyramid-shaped shield. Somehow, during all the melee of Rude's crashing elemental blow, Reno had cast his trademark magical barrier around himself. Esuna probably made all the difference, giving Reno the boost he needed to use his last ounce of strength to cast the shield. Now, the young Turk was now sleeping in the safety of the pyramid energy.

Rude turned his attention back to the disabled house, getting a vague worry that he might have destroyed the artifact in the process.

"Dude, that was _awesome!_" Scotch said as he and Neil came bounding out of the nearby park.

Rude scowled at them, half tempted to draw his gun and get rid of the nuisance gawkers. He looked away from them and back at the mangled machine. "Where did the Don get this weapon from?"

"Eh, he's got shit like that set up here and there. Mostly to keep bitches and people who owe him money from escaping."

Rude wasn't amused. A side door opened, and Chigaru stumbled out, alive and apparently well enough intact. The bald Turk stormed up to him and seized him roughly by the collar.

Before he said anything, his prisoner held out his hand. "You can have this…" Chigaru said, holding out the artifact. "I don't want to fight. I just want a sanctuary, away from Wutai. Keep it, sell it…it's yours."

Rude shoved him, took and pocketed the artifact and swiftly handcuffed the Wutan's wrists. "You're coming back with us."

"Dude…" Neil crouched down beside Reno, touching the pyramid energy field around him. Rude had half a mind to kick the gawker's teeth in but instead chucked a level 1 orb of ice materia at him.

"Use that. It will nullify the shield. Be sure he's still alive." Rude's large hand ominously gripped the back of Chigaru's neck, any further action dependent upon Reno's physical condition.

Neil cast Ice 1 and Reno's pyramid shield vanished. The Turk was breathing, at the least. Aside from that, however, he was pale and looked very sick.

Rude shoved Chigaru at Scotch. "Escort us to the secret elevator in the main support, and the Turks will pay for your services." He walked over to Neil and Reno and lifted his fallen partner off the dirty ground and draped him over one of his broad shoulders. Reno was completely unconscious. With his free hand, he handed the 12,000 Gil card back to Neil. "Here's the Don's precious money back. I'll see he gets something in exchange for his help in catching this rat. That is, assuming he's still alive."

Neil and Scotch saluted Rude and joined him in the walk to the center point of the city. They hadn't been back to the brothel since the second missile attack. Much as they wanted to see if they had a boss and a home to go back to, they instead stuck by the Turks and escorted them back to Shinra's elevator shaft located within the main support hub under the center of the elevated city.

_To Be Continued..._

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


	2. Chapter 2

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter Two:  
__"Devil's Toys"_

"Chigaru…?" Tseng said the name as though pondering.

He paced the hollow room, surrounded by metal walls and ballistic-proof glass mirrored on one side. At the center of the room, a stainless steel table. Seated at the table was an empty chair, and across from it, the captive Wutanese man seated in yet another. Tseng's palm held the bracelet, the light allowing him to see the clearly engraved characters that spelled out Temple of New Light in his native language. His fingers closed over it. The solid gold bangle was weighty for what it was, sculpted and polished with absolute precision.

Three materia slots were inset into the band, perfectly evenly spaced all the way around the ring shape. Subtle variations in the surface between each inlay indicated that the bangle had all three materia slots linked to one another…a feat no jeweler or weapon smith had been able to make work in the eastern world.

Tseng tried to remain neutral and naïve to the existence of the Wutanese underground society that the item belonged. With a little luck, Chigaru wouldn't know the value or importance of the item he had stolen. Or, if he did, he wouldn't turn out to be anyone who intimately knew the Temple.

"This object has left a long trail of blood. Do you care to tell me why you've been toting it around, selling it again and again to people who paid for it both in cash and with their lives?" Tseng finally asked him.

The captive turned his head to the side, staring at the plain floor. His arms were shackled to the metal chair behind him. "I'm not supposed to speak to your kind. It is dishonorable."

Tseng mentally deflected the verbal attack. "I'm the only one here, so you'll talk to me whether you like it or not," he said clearly and very deliberately.

The prisoner shifted his head to look the other way when the Wutanese Turk walked too close to his range of sight the other way. "Maybe it's not important to me. Why is it important to you? Is it because there's a reward for its return?"

"Maybe," Tseng said, not wholly interested in being the one to answer questions. "Wutai posted a thirty thousand Gil reward for it. I'm rather curious. Maybe they won't want it back, now that some _yogore-hito_ like me has touched it."

Chigaru's eyes narrowed and he faintly smiled. The Turk's smooth baritone voice was haunting. He'd expected such treatment. This room, after all, was part of his plans.

"Shinra has no use for you," Tseng told his captive. "I could kill you and put you out of your misery. I could also send you back to your people, and then maybe they will make you a _yogore-hito _like me. Maybe _then _you might talk to me?"

Chigaru just snorted.

"Any common bounty hunter would turn this little gem in…collect the reward…then probably go squander it."

"Why do you care? I'm a petty thief, so what?" the prisoner played on.

Tseng raised his leg and swiped it in an arc so his foot clubbed Chigaru in the head. "I can't let you go back to Wutai. Members of the Temple do not talk easily. You'd rather die, wouldn't you?" He walked too close for Chigaru to ignore. His hand clenched the prisoner's jaw and forced his head to turn and face him. "Though I'm sure that's what you would want…it would be an honorable death. The Turks aren't into completing men's destiny to be martyrs."

Chigaru's eyes focused on the black mark in the center of Tseng's forehead. A black dot, centered between and just above his eye brows, covering the spot said to be the sixth chakra and the focal point of the supposed third eye. "Get your filthy hand off of me…" Chigaru hissed through his teeth, boldly challenging the Turk.

Calmly, Tseng tightened his hold on the man's jaw. "I still need you to talk." He let go of the man and clasped his hands behind his back. Tseng slowly paced again, bringing himself back to the side of the table opposite the prisoner. "Wutai is very clever. Lord Godo…I respect that man." Tseng's hands leaned on the top of the empty chair. "Either you're working _for _him, or _against _him. I was just wondering which side you're on."

"_Yogore-hito_…" the prisoner spat, refusing to answer the question.

"You're ours now," Tseng's ominously gentle voice threatened. "The world never has to see you again if I so wish. But for now, I'm intrigued. Shinra may not care…but I do. In fact, after a while, Shinra _might_ start caring. But we'll let that part happen when it's time. I just wonder how ready the Temple of New Light is to face off with us again. Just because Sephiroth is gone doesn't mean we won't slam Wutai back to the dark ages."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"You only say that…" Tseng stood upright, "because you know I _do_…"

Tseng looked into the mirrored glass and gave a signal. He walked to the metal door that was the only way out of the room. His colleagues on the other side of the wall unlocked it for him and let the stoic Turk out. Rude fell into pace behind his superior, and the Soldiers First Class behind them went in to escort the prisoner back to a holding cell.

Tseng slipped the seemingly insignificant magical bracelet into his jacket pocket. He and Rude entered the nearest glass elevator shaft. The doors closed behind them, and the car started to move. "Report," said the Wutanese chief, seeing Rude for the first time since his and Reno's return to the Shinra building.

"The poison was far more potent than we originally thought. He is in intensive care," Rude said, speaking of the man he'd carried on his shoulder all the way from the slums to the Shinra Tower.

Ever cool, Tseng didn't flinch. His mind, however, did.

- - -

Tseng really didn't feel like reporting anything to President Shinra or Heidegger. He had no choice, though, considering the Turks' nearly lost one of their own attempting to obtain the object that Heidegger had previously scoffed at.

"If your department needed another thirty thousand Gil in their budget, I could have given it to you…" President Shinra rasped, chewing on his cigar. "Instead, you ring up medical expenses, drag some petty thief into the brig, and stick this…_trinket_ in front of me thinking I'll be impressed?"

Tseng knew all the strikes against him and had but one chance to make his case. Defying his usual demeanor and challenging the man who held the power to take his life, Tseng stepped as close to the president's desk as possible, wishing there was a way he could tower over him instead of having to look up at the man seated at the elevated desk.

"Sir…" his words were fueled by venom, "this _trinket_ was made by a magician sect in Wutai to harness elemental powers from the Lifestream that not even the great Sephiroth could probably stand up against. I _know_ you're familiar with the term Aeons. These days they make wonderful things to tell stories of to children, but the elders in Cosmo Canyon will not only tell tales, but will show concrete, indisputable evidence…"

"Give me the artifact…" the president interrupted.

Tseng caught his breath, realizing that he was beginning to sweat and despite his efforts, the man before him was still making light of the situation. He could say no more. He could not disobey the casually dispatched order.

He reached up and placed the golden bangle on the president's desk.

"Don't mind if I have some of Shinra's materia and planetary research teams examine this little toy, do you?" the president said, picking up the artifact. "It's not that I don't believe you, I just need the scientific proof that this is little more than a souvenir obtainable at any gift shop in that tourist trap we call Wutai. Those rats'll do anything for a buck. Dismissed!"

Tseng turned on his heel and strolled out of the high-ceiling office, the word "rat" echoing through his mind. If he had a tail, he thought to himself, it would not be a rat's tail…it would be a scorpion's stinger, and it would have found a victim to strike at just now.

- - -

Giving up possession of the Temple artifact left Tseng with the feeling of a lead weight in his gut. Anger and frustration threatened to consume him.

Visiting Reno in the intensive care unit forced him to keep control of himself. His own concerns were temporarily pushed aside. In his haste to interrogate the prisoner and report his acquisition to the president, he'd neglected his fellow Turk.

The Turks had their own devoted medical staff. However, even Tseng knew that when Professor Hojo was called in to assist with something, it was anything but routine.

Reno was still unconscious, hooked up to a menagerie of machines and IV lines. His comatose state was, for the most part, induced.

The expression etched onto the man's face was not that of a blissful sleep but instead showed pain. His skin was pale white and there were dark circles under his eyes. An electronically controlled ventilator regulated his breathing, and several IV's glowed with a bright green hue indicating that Mako was being used to heal the damage to his body. One such tube was connected to the oxygen mask, forcing Reno to inhale the iridescent gas with every breath.

"He inhaled the poison gas directly. He's lucky to be alive," Hojo told Tseng later. "The toxic chemicals eroded away much of the lining in his airway. If not for the medicinal uses of Mako therapy, he'd probably be dead by now."

Tseng shook his head upon hearing that. "Medicinal uses…the very stuff that destroys lives and mutates humans…is gonna _save _him?"

Tseng left the infirmary, wishing Reno would be awake and return to the team later that day. It would not be the case, however. Much as it pained him, the Turks' leader had to leave the injured man behind.

- - -

The following day, Tseng returned to duty after getting only 4 hours of sleep. It was rather unlike him to be so restless, but the combination of Reno recovering from severe poisoning and the fact that the bracelet was no longer in his possession, he couldn't help it. He hadn't wanted the bangle out of his hands in the first place, so when he was given clearance to attend any of Professor Hojo's experiments and analysis of the object, the Turk was sure he attended.

Hojo had many questions for the Turk. Unlike Heidegger and the president, Hojo actually cared to hear information relating to the object and the 'cult' as Tseng termed it that created it. Tseng found himself holding back in giving Hojo and his research team information on the Temple of New Light and its rumored purpose and beliefs. One thing was for sure…they were magicians.

"Wutai has long held a belief that the demi-gods that we can summon using materia were once even greater than they are today," Tseng informed the team. "The mages of Wutai understand the manifestations of summons more than anyone else. It's no secret that Leviathan is the patron deity of the people. Most the tales are shrouded in myths and legends. Elementals and demi-gods can be conjured with materia, and it's rumored that there once were and perhaps still are people who can summon _without_ using materia."

"I don't think the nature of summoned forces will be understood in our life time," Hojo interrupted. Despite his inattentive look, he'd obviously been listening to what the oldest Turk had to say. The scientist pondered the rather insignificant seeming bracelet. "It takes a strong spirit to be able to conjure up the manifestation of these other-worldly beings. Sephiroth could do it, even as a child. But so much of the ancient stories are regarded as dramatic tales and superstition. I might have a hard time convincing the president that we are doing little more than debunking archaic religious speculation."

"Who do we know that can summon these elementals?" one of the junior scientists asked.

Hojo looked at Tseng. The Turk wished he hadn't. He had no choice but to reply, "I can."

Hojo smiled at the Turk, having known full well that Tseng had the magical talents that most people lacked.

"What does this have to do with Wutai's secret society or the bangle?" Tseng asked, hoping to deflect the unwanted attention.

"Aeons…" Hojo mused aloud. "Yes, I always wondered if one day I would be able to summon Sephiroth so he could return to us. Summons, after all, come from the Life Stream…which means in order to summon an elemental, it first had to live and die on this planet…or from somewhere in the cosmos that we can tap into."

"Summon Sephiroth?" asked a researcher behind them.

"That's assuming he's returned to the planet…" Hojo muttered.

"Three linked materia slots…" Tseng said, redirecting attention back to the bracelet. "I've never tried it. I also don't see why such magical technology could be so detrimental to Midgar. It makes me suspect that we're being mislead somewhere. Could this all just be a decoy to detract us from the Temple's true intentions?"

Hojo handled the gold jewelry. "It doesn't matter. If this works, and we can reverse-engineer the linkage technology, we'll at least be on even ground with our enemy."

Tseng sighed and looked away. Giving control of the research and other investigations to others was counter-productive. The president didn't care, Hojo was more obsessed with the technology, and the scientists who researched materia were far too clinically minded to understand the deep legends that still circulated throughout Wutai.

The only people who knew the absolute truths were the Wutanese, and at that, probably only those who were associated with the Temple.

"There are the rumors about Aeons and a Limit Break that they could reach, but the sources of such information are either guarded or scattered and unreliable. It would take years to pull the dramatization apart from the facts." Hojo placed the artifact back on the table.

Tseng immediately lifted it and held it himself. "Certain forms of materia augment each other. The way Wutai has been collecting materia, do you think it's possible they found some blue or yellow forms that could couple up with red in order to bring about such qualities."

Hojo shook his head. "It's all speculation on our part. We could be way off. We might be better of going to Wutai if we want answers."

"And what? Walk into their clandestine temple, ask them to reveal all their secrets to their enemy…?" Tseng said.

"You're a magician. You tell us," Hojo glared at the Turk.

"No, I'm not!" Tseng insisted. He couldn't, however, deny it. "I can't do it any more," Tseng looked away from any person in the room. "I can't set foot in Wutai, nor can I command magic like I used to. Not with…the mark."

"That can be removed, I keep telling you," said Hojo.

"No!" Tseng snapped, his head pivoting upward to look at the ceiling. "No…it can't. And I'm sorry, but I can't help you. Besides, not clearly knowing how this device works, I can't unleash it's true power, assuming it has any."

"If it's a dud, we can find out quickly," Hojo added, holding out a hand so Tseng would give him the bangle. "The president is authorizing us to look this thing over for _you._ The least you can do is make him not regret giving you an inch to work with. Otherwise, short of going to Wutai, you'll never get your answer. Besides, if it works for us, we might be able to summon Sephiroth back. So even if Wutai has aggressive plans to come at Shinra, we may have equal technology to strike them back with."

"I can try it…but I don't know what the correct combination of materia is…assuming there is one."

Hojo walked out to his office and returned a moment later with two orbs of red materia. "These were found growing in Midgar reactors. They're both the same."

Hojo dropped the orbs into Tseng's hands. As soon as he touched them, Tseng could feel that they were low-level Ifrit summoning materia. "We could damage the materia or the bracelet trying this," the Turk warned.

It didn't so much matter to Tseng whether the magic bracelet worked or not, he was still wrestling with the issue as to what Chigaru was doing with it and why Wutai was offering such a relatively low price for its return. Even more disturbing, if the silly artifact was a weapon developed by a so-called underground society, why did they let it get out of their hands. Unless the thief was not just some random man who swiped stuff in order to make money to start a new life. Did Chigaru have other plans?

At the same time, Tseng feared the possibility that the whole thing was an elaborate hoax. Were the tales of Aeons and the ability to summon without using materia just a story from the pages of mythology. Was the truth lost with the Ancients, and at that, could the last known remaining Ancient have the answer? It almost made him regret not seriously going after Aeris in the recent past.

"This is pointless," Tseng muttered almost inaudibly.

"Not here," Hojo said. Tseng's patience with the professor was wearing thin. "We will go to the underground weapons testing facility…in case we're successful."

- - -

Tseng didn't want to lose valuable Shinra soldiers. But at the same time, he'd never been able to let his feelings get in the way of a job. He and the Turks had been called upon on many occasions to do away with people who otherwise appeared harmless…people who begged for mercy as a gun was pointed at their head but lost their life just the same.

"Don't worry," Hojo said. "They are equipped with the best Fire elemental nullifying magic available. I'm sure they'll be okay."

Tseng looked at the line up of 5 soldiers before him. They'd likely be promoted for being brave test subjects, or die trying. Success or failure, Tseng just couldn't be happy with the result either way it would turn out.

"Very well," Tseng said dryly to ensure his confidence and focus to himself.

"I will be safely in the control tower," Hojo said, slowly shuffling his way across the underground hangar to the fortified observation chamber located along the far wall of the room. The professor's slow movement gave Tseng time to focus and prepare to expend his spirit energy in order to summon the power of the demi-god, Ifrit.

His mind prepared and slightly detached from his physical body. He lifted the dark-tinted goggles that had hung loosely around his neck and fitted them over his eyes right before projecting his spirit self to the plane of energies and connections to the Otherworld. The twin red orbs glowed in the bangle as he connected to the spirit realm.

_This is pointless_, the voice of one of his Others told him.

_I can do the summoning without Materia_, his own mind said.

_This won't prove a thing_, the Other added.

On the astral plane of the summons, Tseng was blind. He could do little more than feel his way around a super-conscious terrain of wisps of color and the feeling that he was navigating the cosmos as though the speed of light were standing still. Ifrit loomed all around, waiting to be worn by the spell caster like a cloak.

_You want my essence in your realm, but why?_ Ifrit asked him. _You don't wish to destroy the humans before you. Why have you come here?_

_Why do any summoners come to you? _Tseng's consciousness asked rhetorically.

_I am not whole. I can only come in part form. You seek the Ifrit of the Ancients, and you may some day find. But not today._

Tseng's superconsciousness disengaged from the demi-god, and he was then subtly called back to his physical body. The contraction of going from universal to personal in size took but an instant, and soon, Tseng found the portal he'd opened to bring Ifrit into the material world for one brief moment.

_Come as you are!_ Tseng's psychic mind screamed back to the astral dimension. He held the portal open, refusing to return to his physical body just yet.

In an instant, Tseng's limp body crashed to the hard metal floor, not even a hand extending out to break his fall.

_To Be Continued..._

"yogore-hito" is a Wutanese insult meaning "filthy person."

Author's notes: IF ANYTHING IN THIS FIC SEEMS CONFUSING, REFER TO THE INFORMATION LOCATED AT THE START OF CHAPTERS 1 AND 7 FOR CLARIFYING INFORMATION.

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter Three:  
__"Out of Reach"_

Tseng woke up on the cold metal floor of the sub-basement hangar.

"Wha--?" he tried to move, his upper body being restrained by a pair of arms holding him in place. His unfocused eyes looked up at the unmasked face of a young Soldier Third Class. For a while, closing one eye helped him better focus on the sights around him.

Two Soldiers moved aside and a thin white-clad figure stepped between them. Tseng's head lolled back and forth, trying different positioning to quell the consuming dizziness of vertigo. The man in the white garb reached a hand down and gently touched an aura of iridescent green light to the Turk's forehead. Tseng drew in a breath as the healing light of a Cure materia penetrated his in-shock body. He relaxed slightly as the spinning sensation slowed and released him from the turbulent ride his mind was in.

"You'll be fine," said a familiar, assuring voice, even though the words were spoken in a kind of drab tone.

"Fire…" Tseng moaned, turning his head towards the figure in white, unable to see the man since a soldier's sleeved arm blocked his vision.

A bony hand reached to the Turk's chest, sliding under his necktie and releasing a button of his dress shirt. Tseng sucked in a breath as a cold stethoscope touched his chest. He relaxed a little as Hojo moved the probe to different spots under the shirt. The stethoscope warmed up after a little contact with Tseng's chest, and the Turk once again breathed steadily, his eyes closing softly.

"How do you feel?" Hojo asked, withdrawing the instrument entirely, leaving the front of Tseng's uniform in less than ideal order.

His head hurt. Everything else seemed fine, but his temples pulsated with tension-induced pain. The Turk tried to sit up and was assisted by no less than two soldiers. Tseng let his upper body slump forward in hopes that stretching other parts might relieve some of his pains. He unzipped the front of his jacket and brushed his hand down his tie to straighten it. One hand expertly rebuttoned his white shirt.

"I…" Tseng started, his memory flooding back faster than he could speak. "Everyone is okay then?" he asked, safely assuming based on the half dozen Soldiers gathered around him.

"Yes, everyone is okay," said Hojo. "That's because nothing happened. You just…lost consciousness."

"I what?" Tseng asked, trying to remember just what form of nothing had happened and what the something was that should have. He then fully realized his undignified position on the floor and did not want every one fussing over him as such. He tried to stand, but clearly he wasn't yet coordinated or steady enough to do so. He had no choice but to remain seated on the ground a while longer.

"Materia doesn't malfunction," Hojo continued, towering over the Turk. "The person using the materia does."

Tseng leaned back on one hand. "I don't know what happened…" he said, bringing his right hand closer to his chest. The gold bracelet innocently encircled his wrist, the twin orbs of red materia glowing with full charge. "It was like any other time. I was here. The portal was open. Ifrit should have manifested."

Several Soldiers shook their heads, indicating that no such demi-god had come forth.

"You have expended spirit energy…so much you were knocked out," the professor continued. "Ifrit doesn't usually require so much spirit to call forth."

Tseng gripped the nearest Soldier's arm and used all his remaining strength to allow himself to be pulled to his feet. His knees nearly faltered, but he was spared an embarrassing tumble by nothing more than a stroke of good luck.

"Ifrit's not whole," Tseng said without realizing it.

"Hmmm," Hojo put his hand across his chest and loosely gripped the opposite shoulder. "Ifrit, like the others, can talk to those who summon them. What else did he tell you?"

"I…don't remember." Thinking made Tseng's head hurt worse.

"It's okay. Maybe you should rest. When your memory of it returns, let me know. Try not to take too long because I'm sure Heidegger and the President won't want the Turks to continue wasting their time on something in vain. I myself would go as far as recommending that the piece be destroyed if it turns out to be a self-destructive trap." Hojo reached a hand out, silently requesting Tseng hand the artifact back to him.

Tseng released the tight hinge and removed the gold band from his wrist. "Let me come along," he requested.

"_You_ need rest," Hojo did all but waggle a finger at the Wutanese Turk.

"I'm fine," Tseng insisted prematurely. "I know that Shinra may not put too much care or emphasis on this item, but I just have a feeling it's not something we want just anyone getting their hands on. I'll rest better knowing that the magic bangle is safe."

"Very well," Hojo handed the bangle back to Tseng. "Bring it back to my laboratory." He then asked two soldiers to escort the Turk along the way.

The professor let them go, curious over Tseng's devotion to this little thing that he'd let become such an obsession over the past several days. It was only a matter of time before he might have to side with the president and say that the artifact is not worth Shinra's time or investment. The prisoner…the thief who'd brought it to Midgar in the first place…was likewise more of a burden than of any use. Reward money or not, neither was becoming worth it.

- - -

Tseng dismissed the soldiers and secluded himself in one of Hojo's private offices after seeing the magic bracelet safely to the laboratory levels high in the Shinra Tower. He leaned back in the leather chair, his mind reviewing his memories of the events leading up to his loss of consciousness. Much as he wanted to delve into the astral planes searching for answers, he felt his energy drain away at the mere thought.

He closed his eyes, gazing at the blackness blocking his view of the ceiling as he arched his neck back. A voice inside reminded him that he just needed time to recover from his extreme expenditure of spirit energy. The voice sounded all too much like Hojo's, souring the otherwise gentle coaching. He leaned forward across the desk to reach for the phone, his motion too sudden causing his world to spin dizzy circles for a brief moment. His fingers paused before dialing Rude's extension down at the Turks' Headquarters.

Soon enough, Rude was upstairs and found Tseng in Hojo's office. His commanding officer looked wearily at him as he walked in the door.

"Thanks for coming, Rude…"

Rude silently approached the partially reclined man and administered a hypodermic shot into the vein on the back of Tseng's left hand. The elder Turk didn't flinch as Rude expertly hit the vein on the first try, the fine needle going in as smoothly and relatively painlessly as a needle could go in. The alchemical mix of medications flowed into Tseng's body, igniting subtle energies that restored the lead Turk's spiritual vitality, making him feel instantly more whole.

Rude withdrew the needle and pressed a cotton swab against the puncture site until Tseng's other hand could reach over and hold it there himself.

"Sir, with Reno already out of commission for a while, is it really the best thing for you to participate in debilitating experiments yourself?" Rude asked him.

Tseng sat upright, continuing to squeeze pressure on his hand. "It wasn't supposed to happen that way," he said plainly. "I don't know how much I want to tell Hojo, or the president for that matter, about what I know. I have my secrets, too. You and Reno are the only ones who know. I never even told Veld, afraid he would find it fit to tell the president. This…" he indicated the bracelet on Hojo's desk, "…was something Wutai has been working with since the war. They were hoping to take down the legendary Sephiroth and drive the Shinra army out of their land. It's the reason they developed the Temple of New Light. I can't see why anyone would seek the powers found only in myths and legends unless there's more truth to it than most would know."

Tseng checked his hand, the small puncture site no longer bleeding. He tossed the cotton ball into the rubbish bin next to the desk.

"What are your plans?" Rude asked.

"Heidegger said not to let this interfere with the Turks' prime objective." He shrugged. "I think it can be incorporated into that. If it works the way I think it's intended, we can use such power to get rid of Avalanche. But if even I can no longer hold the portal open for Ifrit to come forth…"

Rude nodded. "I agree that you should rest first. The medicine I gave you stabilized your energy and your body, but you'll think better if you get some rest."

Tseng sighed. As the alchemist and healer of their group, Rude was usually right about such things. He stood up, leaning a hand on the desk to be sure his sense of vertigo had left for good. Rude gripped him loosely by the elbow. "Why would they let Shinra have something that was intended to destroy us?" he asked before walking.

"Who said Wutai _let_ us have it?"

Tseng thought about it and remembered the name. "Chigaru… He _wanted_ us to have it… But why?"

"Save it for later," Rude's hand was insistent as it gently tugged to get Tseng to walk away.

The Turk leader kept his eyes on the gold bracelet he left behind on Hojo's desk. He, of course, didn't like leaving it, but Rude was the insistent type, especially when he was assuming the role of the healer.

- - -

"I see absolutely no reason to mount an attack on Wutai," Heidegger insisted as he, the president, Hojo, and Scarlet met to discuss the situation the Turks had brought upon them.

"Kyaa haa haa… Sounds like Tseng's cracked," said Scarlet. "I suggest sending him off on a vacation or something." She presently handled the gold bangle, which Hojo had brought with him from his lab.

"Gyah haa haa…" Heidegger bellowed then shrugged. "If Wutai had an underground faction during the war, I'm sure they have no further need for it. After all, we crushed them, pulled out, and agreed not to build a reactor on their continent just yet. What more would they want?"

Scarlet couldn't resist clamping the shiny gold bracelet around her wrist and admire it. "For all we know, this is some piece of crap left over from the war. Tseng talks of a secret society, you say? Kyaa haa haa…" she flicked her hand in ridicule. "I thought he hasn't been to Wutai in over 10 years. How would he know anything about normal society never mind some supposed underground cult? Poor baby…"

Scarlet and Heidegger laughed loudly until the president finally stood up to quiet the two of them.

"I agree that Tseng has been spending too much time lately obsessed over this…_bull crap _and think it's not worth any of Shinra's time or money to pursue it any farther," said the old man. "Heidegger, tell those Turks of yours to resume surveillance of Avalanche. Scarlet, you may run some tests on that jewelry armor, keep it, what ever…I don't care. Professor…"

Hojo turned as if his attention was just returning to those in the room.

The president gnawed his cigar for a moment. "Eh, go back to what ever the hell it is you do all day. And all of you, just forget all that crap Tseng told you about Wutai and some mystic cult. That sniveling nation is on its hands and knees already. We don't even need another Sephiroth in order to grind their faces back into the dirt."

"I think I like this," Scarlet admired the shiny gold bracelet. "If Tseng wants it back, he'll have to do me a little favor…" she said seductively, puckering her lips.

"Oh, and execute Tseng's prisoner," the president added.

"Yes sir!" Scarlet and Heidegger said, turning to leave the room.

Hojo, as could often be predicted, stood in place, lost in thought. After the two loud ones were gone from the room, the professor arched his neck and looked up at the junction of the ceiling and wall.

"Aeons," he said aloud. "As old as the Cetra, maybe even older."

"I know the stories that circulate about them," the president said, about to begin the commonly needed practice of getting Hojo to leave the conference room now that the meeting was over.

"I always wondered if the day would come that materia would condense and allow us to summon Sephiroth. That is, assuming he has returned to the planet."

The president, not intending to stick around long enough to be Hojo's audience, walked to the doorway to leave the room.

"Life energy breaks down when the being returns to the planet," Hojo continued, still staring up the wall. "Ingredients return to the basic life stream. If only we could pull out those components that we want… We could not only make another Sephiroth, but we could revitalize the Cetra." His shoulders slumped, and his gaze lowered. "But there's no way to tell how fast the energy recycles itself back into the living. It might be impossible to reassemble energy patterns."

"Hrmph…go tell someone who cares," the president grumbled and left the room for good.

Hojo crossed his arms over his chest and thought about his theory, so much that he didn't move from where he was standing for over 20 minutes.

- - -

Back at the Turks' Headquarters, Tseng was asleep in his private quarters.

Rude had insisted that he try to get some rest, and despite Tseng's reluctance to do so, the elder Turk soon found himself dozing off. He was left undisturbed, so that when he did eventually wake up, he had no idea just how much time had passed.

Looking at the clock, he could see it was early evening, a few minutes past 17:00 hours.

He rolled stiffly out of bed, his neck and upper back aching. He was thirsty and very hungry.

His uniform would have made Reno proud, as it was full of wrinkles, missing the tie, and his white dress shirt was half unbuttoned. His blazer jacket was draped across the back of his desk chair and, at the least, would not require any ironing before being worn again.

Tseng ran his hand through his hair and paged Rude's PHS rather than risk stepping outside his room and be seen in less than immaculate condition.

"Sir. You're awake?" came Rude's reply.

"Yeah. How the hell long was I out?"

After a pause, Rude informed him it had been about eighteen hours.

Tseng sighed, but his chest soon tensed up. "Is anything going on? Has Hojo figured out anything about the bracelet or summon magic that can be used in it?"

"Shall I come up to your room, Sir?"

Tseng didn't feel right about Rude's reply. "Um, sure. See you in a bit." He quickly changed shirts, combed his hair, and replaced his black tie around his neck. By the time Rude arrived, there was little evidence aside from an unmade bed that Tseng had only been awake for more than 10 minutes.

Rude conveyed information he'd received from their superiors during the time that Tseng was asleep. Included and emphasized was the fact that both Heidegger and the president wanted them to cease pursuing any sort of mystery behind the origin or the significance of the engraved bangle.

"So who has it now?" Tseng finally asked.

"Scarlet," Rude said plainly. "She thinks she'll wear it to the next annual Shinra gala."

"Typical…" Tseng sighed, already formulating and dreading what it might take to get it away from her.

"I also have this for you," Rude handed Tseng a sealed white envelope. It had the return address of the Shinra vice president on it. "I have not looked at it."

Tseng took the envelope. "Thanks, Rude. I'll join you down in ops in half an hour."

Rude nodded and silently departed the room.

Tseng turned on his bedside lamp and sat back down on the mattress. He slid open the envelope and pulled the typed and signed letter out, which was from Rufus Shinra.

He never told Reno or Rude about most the typed letters he would periodically receive from the young vice president. Though his lieutenants knew that Rufus sent such parcels, they never asked Tseng about them. If they suspected anything, they didn't let it show.

He read the letter.

_If you have trouble with Scarlet, just ask and I will get it back._

_My father is too secure in his position, in both this company and in the world.  
It will be his undoing if he isn't careful._

_Come to me if you need any resources._

_Rufus Shinra_

Tseng understood. He smiled to himself though as he thought about his first objective – getting the bangle back from Scarlet.

"I don't know, Rufus. Sounds like a challenge," he said aloud. "Allow me to have some fun first."

- - -

It had been nearly four days since Reno of the Turks fell victim to a potentially fatal dose of poison. It was a miracle that his body was alive at all. As quick as the toxic vapor had begun to eat away at his respiratory system, Professor Hojo initiated radical intervention to save his life. The process, however, required the young Turk to remain in a drug-induced coma, on a ventilator, and at the mercy of the new but questionable means of repairing damaged tissue through the use of Mako Therapy.

Dr. Woudman gently parted Reno's eye lids with his thumb. The once green iris now had the beginnings of an unmistakable and uncorrectable change.

"It's starting, sir," the young doctor said to the professor behind him.

"He's responding well," Hojo replied, gloating to himself over the success of the Mako infusion into the young Turk. "Continue the treatment and we'll see how he's doing in a few more days. I'm sure that Wutanese boss of his is anxious to get him back."

"Mr. Tseng, sir?" the doctor asked, knowing that Hojo had a bad habit of not using people's names often, almost as if he were so smart that his brain didn't have space for such useless knowledge.

"Yes. The Mako therapy will allow him to recover fully, and rapidly."

"But…his eyes are already starting to change," the doctor protested. "They're turning blue and are faintly glowing."

Hojo flicked his hand a few times as the junior physician. "No matter. I would think you and your staff are tired of seeing him in the infirmary. With enough Mako infused into his cells, he'll have the fortitude of a Soldier…and probably a considerably less injuries. He will be able to resist toxins such as what he was poisoned by in the future."

"Yes, Professor," the doctor cut Hojo off before the older man continued to babble incessantly.

"I'm sure the Wutan won't mind," Hojo knitted his lanky fingers together. "In fact, I'm considering having all the Turks infused with Mako. If they're so important to the company, the least we can do is fortify their bodies so each one lasts for longer years of service. Good help, I'm sure, is hard to come by." He turned and shuffled out of the room.

After issuing top-grade weapons to junior staff members Elena and Klaus, and giving them clearance to all 70 floors of the tower, the senior Turks Tseng and Rude visited their fallen comrade in the infirmary.

Rude didn't have much to say. He'd always been the type to give off no appearances of being sentimental or soft. Yet, he and the other Turks and junior staff were always equally as concerned about one of their own any time a serious illness or injury befell one of them.

Like Rude, Tseng could see auras. Reno's was artificially strengthened by the effects of Mako being infused into his body. Rude's was trying to compete with the unnatural energy harmonics to penetrate the Mako field and psychically communicate with the unconscious Turk.

Tseng stood along the far wall, allowing Rude to etherically touch Reno's soul and encourage all parts of his being to efficiently heal itself. The Turk leader thought about the cause of Reno's incapacitation. It was something the president first scoffed at, then let Scarlet walk away with as just another gaudy piece of her jewelry collection.

He looked back at the sleeping form of his comrade. _Every time you look in the mirror from this day on…_he thought clearly in his head, as if projecting it to Reno. _You won't have gone through this in vain. I'm not done with Scarlet or the Temple of New Light just yet._

Rude stood up, his large but gentle hand brushing over Reno's hair one last time. He turned to Tseng.

The elder Turk snapped out of his own thoughts.

"I'll meet you downstairs," Rude said.

Tseng nodded and took up the spot at Reno's bedside as Rude left the room. Much as he wanted to part the Turk's eyelids to see just how rich the Mako glow presently was, he held back. He'd see it soon enough and have to get used to it, as it was an effect that never went away.

"I'm the only one in Midgar who used to be one of them," he said quietly while stroking Reno's hand. "They can't touch me because of my power and the power of Shinra that surrounds me. You did your part…" He lifted Reno's hand and kissed the back of the sleeping man's wrist. "Thanks, Reno. You get better…I'll take it from here."

He backed away from the bed and turned away slowly. He wasn't looking forward to the next step in his plan, but it was a necessary evil that had to be done.

- - -

President Shinra was a difficult man to deal with at times. Heidegger was even more difficult to deal with, and a lot louder and more obnoxious than the president himself. By comparison, Scarlet was far easier to deal with, however, one first had to knock themselves down a few levels and accept dealing with her rather unorthodox ways of granting favors.

Rumors about her and especially senior staff members ran rampant. Most were exaggerated. Many were true. Even Tseng himself hadn't been immune in the past from the questionable "rites of passage" required to get important favors from the head of weapons development. She was easy to play, but only for those willing to play the game right.

Tseng knew that certain people, possibly even those monitoring security cameras, would have a pretty good idea as to why he was strolling through the upper levels of the Shinra tower dressed in a formal black suit, his hair tied back in a pony tail. If his dress and appearance didn't give him away, the dozen-plus-one red roses in his hands certainly did.

Scarlet opened the door to her office on the 63rd floor. She was already dressed as if for a night on the town, nails polished, make-up over done, and a sequined dress that she never wore to just any corporate event. "I've been expecting you."

Tseng smiled warmly, much as his face didn't want to contort into such a pretentious posture for the sake of the venomous woman he had to slay or be slain by. He extended the roses to her. "For you," he said, suppressing the fight that every cell in his body tried to counter with.

"Mmmm, thirteen roses, for me?" her tone of surprise was exceedingly phoney. "Come on in. Would you care for some wine?" she asked in an overly dramatized voice.

Life was like a choose-your-own-adventure book, and often that was her first question to get you to solve her puzzle of the night. But the more you wanted something, and the more she didn't want you to have that something, the more elaborate her game was. There was no doubt in either one's mind that Tseng's visit was nothing more than ritualistic. He knew that she knew that he was playing a game. And of course, she knew that he knew that she knew that he was playing a game. Complicated, but so simple. But first, the dance.

Tseng accepted her offer of wine, but he had no intention of getting drunk and losing his control over the game. Likewise, she suspected he'd want her to outdrink him and be the one to loosen up first. The game was a stalemate before it even began.

The Turk just knew one thing that set him apart from most the other people who'd come to her for the ritual to obtain favors. She didn't like him, and he didn't like her.

His task under such situations was much more difficult, yet in the end, he more often than not got his way. His team appreciated his efforts and sacrifices of both ethics and decency. They didn't ask him about the specifics involved, and when it was their turn, he didn't ask them for the details either.

Scarlet's superior position within the company made it all that much more difficult. Show too much force, interest, or determination, and you wouldn't get your way no matter how much you sacrificed along the way. Give up too easily, she would torment you endlessly and it would make dealing with her under normal corporate circumstances all that much more awkward.

The two sat on the sofa, and Scarlet sat dangerously close to him. She could feel his body heat and any other subtle vibration of energy coming off his unseen aura. Tseng was smooth and in extreme control of even the subtle energies he gave off. She would check anyway, waiting for the day the strong willed Turk would crack.

"So the Wutanese jewelry means that much to you," she said, feeling his aura and body heat for even the slightest change.

"Means a lot," he replied. "Means I have a Turk in the hospital whose eyes will never be the same because of it."

"Mako eyes…" Scarlet mused seductively. "Mmmm, all the more sexy it makes a man…"

Her game of complimenting others aside from her present company did not work on Tseng.

"You don't love me?" she asked with a slight poutiness to her tone.

"I hate you, you filthy bitch," he said, sliding his empty wine glass onto the table and leaning fully into the blond-haired woman. She let him have the first move, her hand placing her own wine glass next to his.

Tseng kissed her lavishly, his hands firmly smoothing over her hair and neck. He pushed her gently so she was lying underneath him on the sofa. She reached up and blindly found his necktie, loosening it immediately. He lowered his hips so his middle made firm contact with the moving body under his.

Both were playful for a bit, each managing to undo at least some portion of the other one's clothes. She hadn't quite expected him to act on her this quickly, as part of the unspoken rules of the game were often the more patient he was, the more likely she would be to do as he asked.

She could already feel him through his trousers, and she brushed her hands over his cheeks and along the hair pulled back over his ears.

"Weren't you told that Shinra doesn't want any more time and resources spent on this mythology of yours?" she asked, busting the mood that was pretentious as it was.

Tseng was glad she said that when she did, as his beginnings of arousal was easily ebbed this short into it's coming. "Of course. But you know I'd still like to hold onto the arm band anyway, just in case the prez is too hasty in shutting the door on it."

Scarlet laughed playfully, sensing Tseng was on the verge of stopping his participation in the ritualistic game. He wasn't taken in. "You're so serious about this," she said in a tone contradictory to his.

"You hold such status in this company, but maybe there are some things that I'm too determined to get my hands on. I will have that jewel one way or another." It was his turn to have his words bite with a lacing of venom.

"You're not getting it," she said plainly, her eyes narrowed and lips curled like a seductive viper. "You want it too badly."

Tseng continued to assume she was talking about the bracelet engraved in the symbols of the Temple of New Light. "I'm a patient man," he smirked deviously back at her. "You may have status of esteem in this company, but charisma will only get you so far. You've dealt with all the Turks at some point. You know who we are."

"It's too late. I know I have something you want. It means little to me."

He sat back, lucky that his body was able to recede away from his state of forced arousal. She moved, too, back to a more comfortably seated position. It was obvious that nothing more would come of the game, and that no matter what, Tseng was going to leave the room empty-handed.

"It means little to me, too," he lied.

"I'll be on the look out for your people," she said slyly. "The one with glowing eyes will be the easiest to spot."

"Maybe I'm not going to send anyone after it."

Scarlet pushed herself off the sofa and stood with her side facing him. "I know you will. That is, if you want to be insubordinate. In which case, the president might exert his authority to either knock you down a few pegs in the company, or even yet, since you know too many secrets…"

"Fear not," Tseng said, standing as well and gathering his blazer and tie in hand. "When the time is right, you'll be the one coming to me, asking me questions and putting the bracelet back into my hands yourself." He turned his back and whipped his blazer over one shoulder. "Have a good night." He walked to the room's exit, never looking back. His free hand popped his dress shirt's buttons back in their holes so that when he emerged into the hallway, there'd be less signs of any wrong doing.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's notes: IF ANYTHING IN THIS FIC SEEMS CONFUSING, REFER TO THE INFORMATION LOCATED AT THE START OF CHAPTERS 1 AND 7 FOR CLARIFYING INFORMATION.

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


	4. Chapter 4

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter Four:  
__"Nobody's Servant"_

Tseng rocketed the ball back at his opponent. He knew he was holding back his true talents, not that he'd be fired or disciplined by the company for beating the snot out of the young vice president. But, as the Turks often served as body guards to the Shinra family, the last thing Tseng wanted to do was cause Rufus harm. The young man was sweating and exerting himself more to keep pace with the Turk. Tseng could see it.

He struck the ball back at the young man, the computer sensors around the playing field charging the sphere with elemental energy in accordance to the amount of power Tseng fed his volley. Rufus moved stiffly and could only block. The 15-inch diameter Tekken ball clubbed him straight to the sandy ground.

"Sir?" Tseng moved up to the center line between halves of the court. The computer controls tractor-beamed the ball back to the center, holding it above the court. "Computer, end game," he added so he could set foot in Rufus' half of the court without the computer blaring off-sides warnings.

Rufus sat up and took Tseng's hand so the Turk could pull him to his feet. "I'm okay," he said in heavy breaths.

"Let's get you some water." The Turk gripped Rufus' shoulder and felt taut muscles in the VP's body.

"Yeah…" Rufus sighed. "From here, I'll accompany you back to your office about the matter than needs to be discussed."

"Yes, sir…" Tseng agreed as Rufus drank hungrily from the cold water bottle. He got them a pair of towels to dry the sweat off their bodies, but they intentionally wouldn't change out of their gym clothes just yet. After all, the vice president of Shinra was not known to visit the Turks' offices without good reason.

After coming down from their athleticism and making themselves somewhat presentable, the two left the gym and caught the nearest elevator down to the main foyer that connected to several low-level wings off the main tower…including the Turks' offices.

The two sequestered themselves in Tseng's office, door shut and locked so that, at the least, they wouldn't be walked in on while changing clothes. Of course, the door remained closed a while longer so that they could discuss things that Tseng didn't want the junior staff overhearing.

"Problems with Scarlet, eh?" Rufus said, buttoning his overcoat.

"I probably shouldn't have tried so soon. It's not easy when the president himself has ordered us to cease and desist any further concern or investigation into what they think is just some half-dead Wutanese cult." Looking his respectable self again, Tseng sat down behind his desk and knitted his fingers together in front of him.

"Temple of New Light? Just how 'dead' are they?"

Tseng's eyes focused loosely on a portion of wall in the distance. "Not as much as we could hope. But it's hard to convey things to the president and Heidegger."

Rufus studied Tseng's somewhat blank stare. "You mean…without revealing that you were once a member of the Temple?"

"I _knew_ it would come back and haunt me. It's true, though, that they have no power over me. They did fear me. When I left them and abandoned the country at the start of the war…" Tseng touched the tip of his finger to the black dot on his forehead. "Lucky for me, they are very superstitious people and fear killing deserters such as myself more than they fear letting them live on. You, Rude, Reno……I think you're the only three who know that this is more than just a mark of banishment from the nation of Wutai. Hojo…I only suspect he may know the truth. For some reason he seems to know everything."

Rufus smiled. "Yes, but at least with Hojo, everyone knows he's prone to babbling either non-sense or things that are so far beyond the limits of our own speculation…"

Tseng's eyes focused again. "Still… The president thinks Avalanche is our biggest threat. They're more so _his_ biggest threat. Wutai is bitter about the outcome of the war and that their warriors were defeated. Modern weapons…Materia…one is no more powerful than the other just yet. The Temple of New Light has been around for over 20 years. Where Cosmo Canyon studies the life of the Planet, the Temple studies Aeons, summons, and the myths behind what they are, where they come from, and the possibility that they can be restored to their former glory. Of course, if the myths are true."

"They summoned Leviathan against our troops a lot. What do they think about him?"

"Leviathan is the patron deity of Wutai. For some reason, red materia orbs grow in the area of Da-chao Mountain that have the ability to summon him. The Temple's first purpose was to find out why. When the war started, they thought that if they amassed enough Leviathan materia, they could have a more powerful and more complete demi-god at their command. Many people can use low level materia. Wutanese warriors could use higher level materia. But few people at all could use Summon materia."

When Tseng's face went a little more blank, Rufus nodded. "And you were one of them." He didn't have to ask…he already knew.

"I took my talents elsewhere. I did so because the beings we summon live on another plane of existence and are not our slaves. They don't like to be experimentally called upon like the Temple would do. When the demi-gods started getting annoyed at them, the Temple then shifted their attention to stories of old where there existed mighty Aeons who eventually had to be banished. Their fragmented souls returned to the planet and supposedly want to reassemble themselves again."

"Seems to fit into one of Hojo's theories," Rufus jumped in. "The one where it times of crisis, the Planet creates Weapons out of itself to rid itself of the source of harm."

Tseng shrugged. "Wutanese mythology…Eastern continent legends. We can probably never prove either. Perhaps they come from similar events from history. But how distorted are they?"

"You know, I can get that bangle back for you if it means that much."

Tseng stood up and walked around the desk to the side Rufus was standing at. "I can see the president's side of it. It's just an artifact…"

Rufus leaned against the desk, folding his arms across his chest. "You're a summoner. It's more than just reassembling deities, isn't it?"

Tseng nodded, leaning against the desk beside Rufus in similar fashion.

"If we can some day summon Sephiroth, we won't have the need for Avalanche any more," Rufus added quietly, not like anyone could hear through the doors and walls, but it was habit anyway.

"Avalanche has lost its original vision. I can see why you're considering withdrawing their funding."

Rufus smiled deviously. "Leave it to me. I want you on this project, so like other things we keep secret from my father, I'll back you on this. Even if things go wrong and I have to deny it, don't worry. I'll see things through."

"Thanks." Tseng pat Rufus roughly on the shoulder. "Better get going."

Rufus pushed himself off the desk and collected his gym bag off the floor. He walked himself to the door, Tseng following. He opened the door part way and turned to the Turk. "Good game," he said, hearing junior staff moving in the hallway. "Give me too much advice, and I might win next time."

Tseng reached the door and held it open for the VP. "Liquid hydration…good for any athlete, even you," Tseng saluted the young executive as he left the office to return to the main tower. Their good-bye was laced with innocence, and Rude would likely be the only one able to see through it because of the things he knew, but he wasn't around at present to notice.

- - -

Later in the day, Rude was back in the office. He gave Tseng an update on Reno's condition and that Hojo thinks another 24 to 36 hours of Mako therapy was all the young Turk needed for his body to fully heal.

Klaus and Rod had intelligence updates on Avalanche's activities and movements. Elena had reports on a handgun technology upgrade. Tseng's desk was, all at once, getting to be full of file folders and reports. It made the day go by, though.

Tseng was thoroughly engrossed in Elena's weapons report when he heard calamity in the main atrium leading to the hallway housing the Turks' offices. He was on his feet quickly, hand in his blazer pocket pulling out a handgun.

When he got to the hallway, a figure in red was storming his way, her hand outstretched and keeping Rude at a distance as he matched her pace. Recognizing the crimson dress and blond hair on the woman, Tseng concealed his weapon and stood stationary, arms clasped behind his back. Scarlet was spouting off cuss words and a bunch of garbled frustration. Rude seemed to be doing everything in his power to either quell her temporary insanity or at least protect the junior staff from her battering-ram storm down the hall way.

"Tseng! You complete and total bastard!" she screamed, a few paces away yet with her finger pointing right at him. Rude restrained her with one hand gripping her shoulder firmly, doing everything to slow her momentum as she approached the senior Turk.

"Yes, Miss Scarlet?" Tseng asked calmly, his placidness in perfect opposition to her ire.

Scarlet stopped walking, but stood within reach of the Wutanese Turk. "I don't know _how_ you did it! But I thought I warned you earlier that it would be complete and total _insubordination!_"

"I'm sorry. Please explain."

Scarlet huffed and threw her head to the side in frustration. "Don't act all innocent with me!" she glared back at him. "There's only one person in this whole company likely to have stolen the bracelet from my office!"

Tseng gripped her hand as she thrust it at him, her finger threatening to jab him in the chest. "I don't have it," he insisted firmly. "Are you sure you didn't misplace it trying to find a good hiding spot for it?"

Scarlet yanked her hand away from him. "You're just lucky I haven't told the president yet! He knows, as much as I do, that you're the prime suspect."

Tseng shrugged. "Ask Rufus. It's true that I did have the intention of acquiring the bracelet at some point, and that daddy's boy _did_ offer to help me. In which case, you'll have to take it up with him. If it _was_ Rufus, you can't say it was any sort of insubordination."

Scarlet's face was nearly as red as her dress. "But you still had a hand in it!" she hissed, then turned her back sharply to him. "Very well, Tseng! Either way, I'll find a way to kick your ass for this."

Tseng smiled deviously since her back was turned. "I'll look forward to it."

Scarlet snorted and stormed back down the hall the way she'd come. Rude hurried into step behind her to again escort her and keep the junior staff away.

Tseng returned to his office shaking his head. Her spectacle had been amusing, but he hoped he did the right thing mentioning that Rufus had offered the help that he did. He figured it would still be a while until she returned to the upper floors of the tower, so he called Rufus on his desk phone.

"No!" Rufus replied when he was told, making Tseng's heart skip a beat as well. "I haven't done anything yet. Figured I would give her a day or two to cool down about it first."

At least in the privacy of his office, Tseng could allow himself to visibly sweat over the circumstance. "I think she's headed your way. Think you can hold her off 'til I get up there?"

"Sure, but what are we going to tell her? If you didn't take it, and I didn't take it, then who has it?"

"Assuming she didn't lose it on her own," Tseng gathered himself up mentally, opening his desk and retrieving a few concealable defensive weapons. He didn't like his own memories of what he'd told Scarlet the night before, more or less foreshadowing to her that sooner or later, the bracelet would return to him.

"I'll deal with her. She wouldn't dare harm me," said Rufus. "Just get the hell up here as fast as you can."

"Yes, sir!" Tseng hung up and was already stocked with what he needed for his hasty ascent to the top of Shinra Tower. He told Rude in passing where he would be and to tail him discretely for the time being.

The Turks had pass-cards that allowed them to commandeer any elevator, recall it to any floor, and take it non-stop to any location within the tower. Tseng did so, riding it to the 69th floor.

Scarlet had probably only been there for a minute before Tseng arrived. Rufus had two soldiers outside his office, obviously in last-second preparation for Scarlet's arrival. Lucky for him, Scarlet wouldn't display as out of order tantrums as she would in front of the Turks.

"Are you sure you didn't misplace it?" Rufus asked Scarlet as Tseng arrived in his office.

"That's exactly what that Turk asked me!" she replied angrily. "No doubt the two of you are in on this together!"

Rufus looked past her as Tseng strolled in. Scarlet turned to the new arrival as well. "Miss Scarlet," said the Turk. "Your office is as secure as any other upper floor of this building. There are closed circuit cameras everywhere. I'm sure if it was stolen, we have images of the thief coming and going."

"Hmph…" she snorted, not justified in much deeper of attacks against the two men.

Rufus' desk phone rang on the line directly tied to his father's office. Suspecting the call might be related, Rufus picked up on speaker.

"Son, I'm connecting you to the video phone communication I have with Lord Godo of Wutai," said the president. Scarlet and Tseng flanked Rufus on his side of the desk to watch in on the unexpected call. "That Turk is in your office? Good, hold him there and don't let him go."

"Sir?" Tseng asked, seeing Godo's and the president's images side by side on their end of the video phone.

"So glad you're here, Tseng," said Lord Godo.

The image transmitted back to him of the Turk's face in shock. "You dare actually speak to a _yogore-hito_ like me?" the Turk asked.

Godo laughed. "Come on! You and I both know that your mark is only for show. I am able to thank you myself for returning the Temple's bangle to us. Your job as a mole within Shinra can come to an end when ever you want. You can return to us now."

Tseng's chest tightened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from Godo, while at the same time he was trapped, surrounded by three top executives among Shinra and soldiers posted outside the door.

"Tseng, is that true?" the president barked from the terminal in his office a floor above.

"No, sir…" the Turk went a shade paler, and his eyes showed a horrified expression he probably never held in his 15 years with the company.

"Don't let him leave your office, Son!"

"Fear not," Godo said through the airwaves. "The Temple looks after its own and will come for you, Tseng. Meanwhile, you have sacrificed so much to get us back what we need." He bowed to the screen, and off camera, one of his assistants killed the communications feed.

"I don't know what he's up to but…" Tseng started, hearing the foot steps of running soldiers storm into Rufus' office. He didn't resist as one held a sword to the side of his neck and the other restrained his arms, handcuffing them behind his back. Tseng stood firm but didn't resist the inevitable. "Rufus, sir! Lord Godo is lying. If he truly respected me and was on my side, he would have called me by my last name."

"Perhaps," said Rufus, the look on his face conveying that he reserved judgment but would let events proceed as they were. "Still, isn't it strictly forbidden for anyone in their culture to speak to a…"

"_Yogore-hito_?" Tseng finished for him. "Yes. But I suppose as more or less the 'king' of the country, he's an exception. Which only makes me curious as to why he's going through all this. I am _not_ working for him, I swear!"

The soldier tugged at the Turk's shackled arms. Tseng turned around and fell into step as they escorted him out of the room.

Scarlet turned to the vice president. "You might want to be careful in your dealings with that one," she told him. "You know your father better than any of us, and he's not much of a forgiving man." She hurried to tail the soldiers and Tseng.

Soon, the president himself showed up at Rufus' office.

"Father, there's something not right about what Lord Godo was saying!" Rufus hurried to the president's side.

"Hrmph! I know you like the Turks and pal around with some of them, but we can't have traitors or Wutanese moles in this company," President Shinra grumbled, chewing on his cigar. "I should have known better than to take on someone of his stature from that country. They're nothing but trouble, all of them!"

Rufus narrowed his eyes at his father's comment. "We were just suggesting to Scarlet to let us view the surveillance records of the outside of her office."

"Those Turks!" the president grumbled. "Knowing Tseng he was in disguise."

"But our computers can find over 10,000 points of reference from height to bone structures…I'm confident that if we compare who ever appeared on camera to Tseng, it would not be a match."

"Hrmph…probably someone he hired then."

Rufus stood in front of his father as he tried to walk away from his son's door. "Stop acting like he's guilty!"

"Stop acting like he's not!" his father bellowed, a large hand pushing his son aside. Rufus had no choice but to hold his ground while the president walked off.

- - -

Lord Godo curled his arm and made a fist, stiffening the large muscles of his biceps. His laughter filled the room of the underground temple.

"My Lord, if he does come back, what should be do?" asked one of his minions who had been operating the satellite communications grid allowing the humbled nation of Wutai to communicate with the far-away Midgar.

"He's not wanted among the Shinra any more. And he's not wanted here," said Godo. "He's filth…and the people are likely to call our samurai patrol force if they see him approach Imperial territory. He might be killed. But, I'll see to it that he's given a choice of joining us, or execution. I actually think he'd take being executed."

"Why is that?" asked Chekhov, another of his trusted people in attendance.

Godo laughed and struck another manly pose as if showing the world he's strong enough to lead a nation. "Because Shinra is after him now, and the Temple has already banished him once. On the outside chance that he cares to join us, we could use the extra mage power to summon the Aeons of yesteryear against Midgar."

Chekhov shook his head. "He won't join us. I just know it…"

Godo smiled, both hands curling into fists. "It ultimately doesn't matter. We just pulled a major link out of Shinra's chain. Spread the news among the populace that Midgar is soon going to fall, and all other nations under Shinra's power will be set free and allowed self-rule once again."

- - -

Rufus Shinra had a soldier guard with him as he requested to visit Tseng in the 67th floor holding cell. The armed guard, by the Heidegger's order, was required to be there at all times even in the locked cell during the vice president's visit.

Shinra officers armed with rifles stood outside in the hallway.

The vice president's visit only lasted about 10 minutes, and he and the armed guard exited the cell, which got locked behind them once again. The guard followed Rufus to the glass elevator that ran along the outside of the building. The two were silent as they both rode it to the ground floor.

"I'm going to the Turks' offices," Rufus told his escort. "I'll be fine from here."

The soldier nodded and saluted, going a different way than the VP. While Rufus strolled innocently down the corridor, the soldier walked to a staircase that went underground to a parking garage. There were always Shinra military officers in the parking deck, so it was no surprise for the soldier who'd been escorting Rufus to get into a car driven by someone waiting. The black sedan motored out of the parking deck and into the elevated roadways of Midgar.

Tseng removed the soldier's helmet and mask, shaking his head so his long black hair would fall back over his shoulders. He took a cleansing breath and dumped the headgear into the back seat. "Mission accomplished," he said with a slight curl of his lips into a smile.

Rude, driving the car in the seat next to him, kept his eyes on the road. "What shall we do in your absence, Sir?"

Tseng sighed. "I only wish I could have seen Reno before I left. When he wakes up, don't tell him anything just yet. I'm sure once he's allowed out of the infirmary, he'll wonder where I am. Hell, he'll probably overhear something even before he's released. Damn…"

The pavement hummed under the car's tires, accented by a few clicks as they rolled over expansion joints in bridges.

"I don't know what Wutai is up to, but I can't stay in Midgar right now. I will find my way to Cosmo Canyon. I wish to get a few answers first."

"Shinra will likely soon find out that it's no longer you in the prison cell," the bald Turk said plainly.

Tseng nodded. "I know… By the time you get back, I'm sure. Don't be gone long, as they'll probably call on you to help search for me."

"I understand. And, just so you know," Rude said, "they looked at the surveillance film outside of Scarlet's office. No one was seen entering or exiting the room after she left it."

"That's what Rufus told me. Something's still amiss. Either she misplaced it, or, there's someone who can has Teleport Materia. It's rare, but Hojo has some in his lab. I'm not sure what level it's at. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Hojo used it and absent-mindedly didn't tell anyone."

"Then how did Wutai get the magic bracelet back?"

Tseng ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know…" He undid the front of the soldier's uniform, anxious to get out of it and into the spare uniform Rude was carrying in the trunk of the car. "Things Chigaru said bothered me both then and now. I suspected early on that it was his intent to get Shinra, or maybe specifically the Turks, to take possession of the artifact. If I'm right, then it ties right into this bluff that Godo is playing. Dammit! If only President Shinra weren't such a concrete ass who isn't willing to take time to do investigations or prove my innocence!"

"You're…not really a mole from Wutai, are you?" Rude asked sounding a hint shy.

"Hell, no. I left Wutai years ago, leaving the Temple of New Light society I was a member of. You are one of the few who know the truths about many things, including the mark of banishment I bear," Tseng touched his forehead. "The world isn't ready for the return of the legendary Aeons. I refused to be a part of Wutai's attempts to summon them and use them as weapons against their foes. That's why I had the Blinding Mark put on my third eye…so I would never be able to summon fiends that could very well destroy the planet."

Rude nodded and drove with traffic, not wanting to draw attention to their vehicle.

"The mark is usually reserved for criminals. _Yogore-hito_…filth…a name given to miscreants when their criminal deeds have caused them to be banished from society and made outcasts. I wanted to be outcast so they not only wouldn't bother me any more, but also not kill me, as they are superstitious about killing criminals." Tseng laughed a little about the Wutanese belief that if executed, criminals would return as vengeful spirits or, even worse, contact Leviathan and plead a collective case to persuade the deity to cease guarding the nation. "The mark traditionally symbolizes the blinding of the third eye, supposedly preventing mages from using high level magic."

After a moment of silence, Rude asked, "Does it really?"

Tseng looked out the window at Shinra Tower, which was now off in the distance as viewed from the sector 6 highway. "I'm not sure. I'd say not, but then again I don't channel my magical energy through my third eye like most do. I use the Master Eye."

Rude turned his head slightly. Perhaps it was just city lights glaring in his sunglasses which dimmed the hazy sky, but it looked a little bit like the reflection of Tseng in the car's window glass showed a red pair of eyes glowing on his forehead, one above each eyebrow.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's notes: IF ANYTHING IN THIS FIC SEEMS CONFUSING, REFER TO THE INFORMATION LOCATED AT THE START OF CHAPTERS 1 AND 7 FOR CLARIFYING INFORMATION.

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


	5. Chapter 5

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter Five:  
__"Bloody Horizon"_

_How many hours have gone by?_

He wondered about it, stirring out of a sleep that left him feeling…well, very sleepy.

_How many days? Days…? Or hours…? Maybe I can ask someone._

Even his eyes felt uncoordinated. Eye lids would strain to part, but even when he could get them somewhat open, Reno's eyes just couldn't come into focus on any thing. It was easier to keep them closed, but doing so would not help answer any questions he had that could be wordlessly answered if only he could have a look around.

Giving up on trying to see right away, Reno then focused on his breathing. It was easy and painless, though the back of his throat was rather raw. He moved his fingers experimentally and rotated his wrists. It felt so good to move.

"Good morning, Reno," said a female voice.

Reno cracked a blurry eye open in the direction of the words. In addition to the voice, Reno could then hear the humming and soft beeping sounds coming from all sorts of directions. He winced a little, the sounds around him suddenly seeming obnoxious.

Something else buzzed, and as it did, a cuff around his arm tightened. It stayed then released slowly and added another beep to the virtual ruckus all around him. The nurse wrote down the blood pressure reading that displayed.

"I'm gonna get the doctor, okay?"

Reno tried to speak, but instead all he did was exhale a smooth breath. Forgetting about the nurse and doctor, he closed his eyes and experimentally tried to speak, but he got no vibrations what so ever from his vocal cords.

Dr. Woudman was the next one into the room. He and the nurse talked at Reno's bedside, but the young Turk had no will to pay attention to what they were saying. His head lolled back and forth a little bit, his heartbeat accelerating with worry.

A warm hand touched his forearm, and Reno paused all thoughts and concerns for a moment. "Reno?" it was the doctor. "We've had you on a vaporizor anesthetic. Don't try to talk yet. It should wear off in 6 to 8 hours, and you'll be fine."

Each time Reno opened his eyes, he was able to focus a little bit better. Doing so, however, always made him feel light headed. A part of his mind knew that it would be the case, as the nature of his job had landed him in the hospital on more than one occasion. Each time, though, there was always the question as to how long had he been out. In the past, he'd had a voice to ask. The doctor, however, didn't come right out and say this time, nor did he say anything that answered any of Reno's questions.

The doctor eventually left the room, leaving Reno with a thought to complain to Tseng about the member of their dedicated medical staff.

"Rude Anderson said he wanted to be informed when you woke up. Shall I send for him?" the nurse asked.

_What part of 'I can't speak yet' do you not understand?_ Reno said in his mind, but hardly without realizing it, his right hand rotated and gave a "thumbs up" signal to answer the nurse's question.

He closed his eyes again. He tried to think back to the last thing he remembered before waking up in a hospital bed.

Memories of Tseng, a meeting, and being given orders. A train ride from plate level to the slums. Don Corneo. All among other miscellaneous clutter that could have been any day on the jobs below the plates.

It hurt to think, and his mind drifted its way back to a sense of neutrality. Sounds and his refocusing vision kept him passively occupied for a while. Every few minutes, the automatic blood pressure monitor would inflate and slowly release the cuff around his arm.

Reno's awareness came back on line when Rude entered the room. He turned his eyes to his partner as the bald man towered over his bed side. Rude's brow shifted, the expression of his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. The inquisitive look disturbed Reno.

The young Turk opened his mouth to speak, but as he was about to, he remembered he couldn't. So many questions…starting with Rude's odd look, especially when the tall man faintly smiled.

Rude folded his arms across his chest and looked down at Reno. "You have the most beautiful eyes," the Turk said in his usual way of neutrality.

In this case, of course, it only confused the somewhat groggy patient. Reno's eyes narrowed, his facial expressions one of his only means of communication thus far.

_What the hell, Rude? Not nice to play games with me right now._

"Have you seen them yet?" Rude asked.

Reno only went more pale, if that was even possible. He looked side to side, mentally convincing himself that his vision was as it should be. His face felt normal, but his hand reached up and touched his cheeks and the red tattoos that he knew were normally there.

"I don't think he knows," the nurse said as she stepped a little closer to Rude. Her voice was hushed, but Reno heard anyway, his senses heightened as they were all he could rely on as his body tried to remember what it was like to be under his control.

"I'm not good at these things," Rude seemed a little shy, turning his head away from Reno.

The nurse exchanged places with the Turk. "Reno, they had to use a Mako infusion to help your body heal," she said, waiting for the information to slowly enter Reno's consciousness. The expression on the young man's face changed, his eyes saying _tell me more._ "Your eyes…it's permanent. But it looks very good on you," she smiled at him.

Rude turned back to his partner, now that the most touchy fact had been revealed. "They said your body will be able to heal itself better in the future, and resist injury and illness more," he said.

Reno squirmed a little, repositioning his back at the least. He looked to the side, away from his company, his eyes clamping shut as he mentally digested the truth. Mako eyes were nothing new to him. He'd seen and worked with many Soldiers who'd been Mako-enhanced and has the rich, glowing look in the color of their eyes. In the darkness, he thought about the image he was used to seeing in the mirror of himself. Medium green eyes. They matched his flaming red-orange hair, another color on him that was artificial to what nature had given him. The only difference being, his hair color wasn't permanent. If let grow out enough, his roots would show his natural color. His eyes, however, would never go back.

Even if he could speak right now, he'd probably remain silent anyway. He didn't want to see. He wanted to go back to sleep and try to wake up to a different circumstance…wake up to hearing different words. His recently awakened consciousness had him mildly convinced that he might be able to change things, but the reality was, the day would come that he'd be forced to come face to face with the man in the mirror.

- - -

When Rude returned to the main building and the executive Shinra offices, he returned to a rather hostile environment. Heidegger was trying to pin their recent problems on the president. The president blamed him and the Turks and even tossed a few accusations at his own son. Rufus stayed firm in his case that he had no idea what had gone wrong and tried to convince everyone that Tseng was probably the most clever and potentially dangerous man in all of Shinra. Scarlet was ready to go out hunting Tseng down with new experimental weapons she'd been developing, including a few robotic sentinels.

Turks junior staff members, Elena and Klaus, had been temporarily promoted to higher substitutionary rank in order to fill in for the missing Tseng and Reno. Heidegger insisted on giving them orders directly and forbid Rude to make decisions for his team that the general thought he could make better himself. Rude had seen the Turks fall under the direct command of General Heidegger before. Much as he didn't like it, he was a man of few words anyway. He did suspect that Heidegger actually enjoyed being hated by other people, and that in itself gave him power.

The Turks never had many allies, but there was usually one constant. At that, he was a person who had two fronts to defend and be loyal to, and his relationship to the president always took precedence. But even while siding with upper management, Vice President Rufus always had his mind on playing the Turks around any trouble that erupted within the corporate hierarchy.

"Avalanche is likely to take advantage of our condition!" Heidegger barked at the president.

"Not if we don't publicize it, and Shinra controls the media around here!" the president replied, matching the general's combative tone.

Rude had to watch and listen. Upon his return from visiting Reno, he was ordered by Heidegger to maintain bodyguard and escort services to the president, as the general's fears over word getting out and to the regrouping terrorist group, Avalanche, were not going away any time soon.

As it was, Shinra's media was working hard publicly shooting down any rumors about the goings on within the company. The military and Turks' intelligence staff were tracking down possible Shinra employees who were circulating rumors that made it out to plate level. Even the gossipy slums were of concern, but they were easier to deal with since, at best, their source of information was usually third- or fourth-hand.

It would still take a while for news and rumors to reach Wutai, but Lord Godo already knew that events in Midgar were proceeding as planned.

It didn't matter to him where Tseng was. All that mattered was that he took the blame for giving back what rightfully belonged to the Temple of New Light, and that his broadcast role would separate him from the company.

Rufus and Rude were the only people who knew Tseng's whereabouts. Both were skilled at feigning ignorance. To be a Turk, or the president's son, one had to be good at that.

- - -

"Stupid Kimara bug…" Tseng hissed. He'd finally gotten a room at an Inn. There he was able to assess a bite he'd gotten on the leg by one of the large blood-sucking bugs during his on-foot travels to Cosmo Canyon. The welt had grown to four inches across and slightly dome shaped. Kimara bugs themselves could grow up to a foot long, and the one that had bitten him was well on its way to full size. The bite was doomed to itch like hell within 12 hours unless medicated.

Despite being in a town where Shinra soldiers were not posted, Tseng felt like he had to be on his guard at all times, so even a trip to an apothecary felt risky. As a Turk, he knew privileged information about Shinra spies posted just about anywhere in the world. Being not far from the reconstructing town of Nibelheim, Cosmo Canyon was a place he wouldn't rule out finding Shinra spies impersonating innocent villagers and coming for supplies or recreation.

Like it or not, though, he had to visit the medicine shop otherwise his next few days would be pure misery.

He took his ponytail out and combed his hair, rebundling it into another tail afterwards. He changed out of his denim shorts into long pants to cover up the reddening bug bite and set out into the twilight sky. The nearest medicine shop wasn't far, and the sky was darkening. The orange glow of Cosmo Candle cast shadows and slightly distorted images perceived by the human eye. He hoped despite rather vain efforts that he would not be recognized.

Being within the geographic area where Kimara bugs were prevalent, every apothecary in Cosmo Canyon carried salve that would cure or prevent itching of its bite. Tseng thanked the shop keeper, paid for his purchase, and wanted nothing more than to return to his room at the Inn and recollect his thoughts and goals of his visit. Above all, he needed a shower and some sleep.

Outside, he ran across someone he recognized. He couldn't help but stare at the other man, a bit wide-eyed and horrified at the same time, almost in a way like a teenager going to a night club only to run into their own mother.

The other man stopped and looked at him as well, cocking his head trying to see if he recognized the Wutanese man in the shadows and glow cast by Cosmo Candle. "Tseng?"

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Reeve?"

"Hey, Tseng! How you doing?" Reeve immediately hugged Tseng, and the Turk could easily smell alcohol on him. Reeve's over-jubilant personality was likely augmented by some sort of cocktail the canyon was famous for.

"Uh, yeah…fine…" Tseng said, getting away from Reeve the instant the man let go of him. However, the obviously vacationing Shinra executive was not going to let him get away. It was bad enough he'd said Tseng's name out loud that others might have heard.

"Hey, what brings you here?" Reeve said, immediately falling into step along side the Turk. "I hear that back home, Shinra is…"

Tseng stopped walking and his arm flashed outward, a knife-hand blow aimed at Reeve's neck stopping just short of its target. Reeve instantly froze, stunned and in disbelief over how close he came from a fatal blow from a friend.

"Be quiet," Tseng said through his teeth, only guessing that alcohol had a bit of a hand in Reeve's lack of discretion. "Don't say anything more and follow me back to my room, okay?"

Reeve nodded, fighting the effects of only a moderate amount of alcohol, but his mind was sober enough to remember who the Turks were and what it meant to go against them.

Back at the Inn, Tseng didn't delay rolling up his pant leg and administering salve to his bug bite before trying to fill Reeve in on the situation and why he was here. Reeve, of course, was inquisitive.

"How'd you get a Kimara bug bite? I thought they lived in wooded areas."

"Let's just say I had a long walk," Tseng said rather bitterly, still not decisive on how much he would tell Reeve right now. If he was to run into anyone he knew during his outing, he at least needed those people to be his allies. Reeve, luckily, was an often cheerful and humanitarian type. His relative ignorance to the situation back in Midgar meant he had probably been away from the city for at least the past 3 days.

"Is it true that Shinra is having a little internal crisis? I called into my office for messages, and let's just say, I got a few vibes that something is amiss."

Tseng wanted to sleep, not make confessions to Reeve. However, unless he set the executive straight now, the man was likely to return to Midgar babbling about his time at Cosmo Canyon and his coincidental run-in with Tseng of the Turks.

"Reeve, exactly what are you doing here in Cosmo Canyon?" Tseng tried to shift the conversation.

Reeve grinned stupidly. "Studying about Planetary life, opening my mind to the wisdom of the elders and stories of old."

Tseng nodded. _Interesting…_

"What about you?" Reeve asked.

"Actually, I'm here for much the same reason. Only this trip here wasn't exactly planned until I left Midgar a few days ago. It's true that Shinra management is having a bit of a crisis," Tseng kicked his shoes off and reclined on the bed. Reeve sat in a wicker chair across from him. "Sometimes I think I'm the only person who knows truly what's going on. The president won't listen to me."

"Whoa, what do you have to do with this?" Reeve blurted out with.

_If you'd shut the hell up…_ "Everything, really. It's a long story, and I have to make sure you're in your right mind before I tell you anything more."

"I'm not drunk if that's what you think. I'm just a little…loosened up."

Tseng sighed. He would just need to apply extra effort into swearing Reeve to secrecy.

- - -

Reno didn't blink. His eyes focused on the reflection of one of themselves at a time. A ring of iridescent blue-green surrounded the black pupil of each eye. These were not the eyes he was accustomed to seeing look back at him.

Next to his hospital bed, Rude and Elena stood silently, both afraid to make a move while they waited for Reno's over-all reaction to what he was seeing for the first time.

Reno finally lowered the hand-held mirror. His mind was much clearer than it had been during the first few hours after he'd awakened out of his drug-induced coma. His voice, also, had come back.

A thousand words raced through his mind. Reactions and feelings came to him faster than he could compile words for. His thoughts transcended his vocabulary, and each could be felt deep inside in ways nothing verbal could be adequate to convey.

"Why…?" he finally asked, compelled to say something but unable to say much at all.

He knew why. Elena and Rude knew as well, and that the reason had been told to him quite a while ago. Elena took the mirror out of his hands, removing from him the temptation to look at himself. She looked ruefully at him.

"I'll just have to get used to it…" Reno said, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head. The silent tear that escaped and rolled down his cheek didn't go unnoticed.

Elena sat on the edge of the bed and collected his hand in her grip, squeezing it firmly. His head rolled to the side, looking as far away from her as possible, his eyes still closed. She looked over at Rude who just merely shifted his weight slightly. "It looks very good on you," she said, looking back at the red head.

She lifted his hand and kissed the back of it. Reno's fingers just tensed up and gripped hers back.

"You have no other injuries," Rude said, changing the topic slightly to possibly detract Reno from the matter upsetting him. "Hojo said you can get out of here when ever you are ready."

Reno took a breath into his tense chest, trying to loosen up and relocate his usual strength. It was bad enough two of his colleagues were beside him and seeing him like this. He wiped his hand over his eyes, collecting any more salty tears that welled up before he could regain control over his emotions. Reminding himself of the over all benefits of a body enhanced with Mako therapy, he tried to shake the initial shock of what he had just seen.

"Maybe I can kick Tseng's butt in Tekken Ball now, huh?" he asked wearily.

"Sure," said Elena, a lead ball in her stomach as she heard the Turk leader's name. Neither she nor Reno had any idea where he was, but lucky for Reno, he didn't even seem to know he was missing at the moment.

"You may still need a few days to acclimate yourself to returning to duty," Rude said.

Reno sat up, his movements shifting the IV tubes that he was still tethered to. "Yeah…" he looked down at the offending plastic tubes. "The sooner I get out of here, the better. Just…keep that Dr. Creepy away from me."

"I'll call for the nurse," Rude turned to walk out of the room, delighted to be of use rather than standing around uncomfortably behind two somewhat emotional colleagues.

"Everyone's gonna stare at me…" Reno whined mildly.

"Maybe not," Elena tried to assure him. "We work with and around First Class Soldiers all the time. We see Mako eyes just about every day. It's nothing unusual."

"On me it is…" He could only imagine every one of the junior staff, their eyes fixed on him as he walked into a room full of them. His image prompted both feelings of shyness and feelings of anger and wanting to tell them all to get the hell back to work. Elena's voice pulled him back to the present.

"I think they already know, so it won't be a shock to them."

The only one Reno trusted not to be a pain about it was Tseng.

He thought about the Turk leader and the past 24 hours. He'd been awake and alert for much of the time within the past day and a half and still hadn't seen his commanding officer.

"Elena…" he asked hesitantly. "Where is Tseng?"

The junior operative was taken aback by his question. "Um…" she stalled, remembering the order not to discuss anything regarding Shinra and the Turks' internal issues. Rude also informed his staff that he'd personally take care of filling Reno in on events as needed. "I think he's busy with the president and can't get away right now," she outright lied, trying to tell him _something_ rather than giving a neutral reply that might only worry him more.

Rude returned with the nurse, and Reno was disconnected from the IV tube. There was also the usual bit of "debriefing", as he called it, that medical staff always gave him as he was leaving their care. Also, much to his dislike, he was told that Hojo wanted to see him before he left the infirmary.

"I'm not his little _specimin_," Reno protested to the request as he was getting dressed into a uniform that Elena had brought for him. "I hope he doesn't make me his new little plaything and want to run tests on me all the time. I swear, I'll kill the creepy bastard…"

"He probably won't," Rude said flatly. "It's nothing new, really."

"Yeah, he leaves all the Soldiers alone, err…I think…" Elena blushed.

Reno narrowed his eyes at her for her less-than-optimism. He was feeling quite all right and was eager to get back to the job and get his department's curiosity done and over with. "Guess Tseng'll be happy to see me again, huh?" he asked, hoping to get a better answer out of Rude this time than the hesitant reply he'd gotten from Elena.

"Yeah…" Rude said in his low voice. "There are some things I need to talk to you about, okay?"

"Um…sure…" Reno slipped his first boot on, not showing his uneasiness about the vibes he was getting that something wasn't right out in the world around him. He knew his partner well enough to sense things even when Rude spoke in a plain, neutral tone.

- - -

If Reeve showed any signs of having had too much alcohol before, they weren't with him by the time Tseng got finished telling his story to the Shinra executive.

"Hmm, well, Tseng…you're definitely one step ahead of me. Never quite realized you had ties as deep to the Wutanese underground as you do."

The hard, serious look never left Tseng's eyes. "It's not something that _any_one should even know," he said in a menacingly soft voice. "You, Rude, and Rufus…the only ones I ever told. I would probably have a hard time killing Rufus if he ever uttered a word to anyone else about it, but those are the terms. And he knows that the only person on Gaia that I couldn't have brought down was Sephiroth. So anyone else…and that includes you."

Reeve managed a stupid grin. "No problem. I have a few secrets of my own that either haven't fully surfaced, or Shinra just doesn't know about."

Tseng looked around the windowless room. "President Shinra's vain attempts to find the Promised Land…" he mused aloud. "They're going to destroy him, because if they don't, he will end up destroying the world."

"There's no tangible evidence that the Promised Land even exists. And if it did, why would the Cetra lead us there?"

Tseng stifled a laugh. "It doesn't exist." It was his conviction, if not the truth.

"And these Aeons?"

Tseng unconsciously scratched at the bug bite that mildly itched on the side of his right leg. "That's what I'm here to find out. I don't think humans were meant to mess with such things."

Reeve shook his head. "I can't use summon materia. I have wondered, though, if those of us who can't could learn, or develop the right skills. I've learned here that in the ancient stories, summoners went through trials to gain the ability, but there's no mention of materia."

Tseng shrugged. "They didn't need it. Materia contains the wisdom of the Ancients. Without the Ancients, we wouldn't have materia at all. Lord Godo believes that summon materia did not come from the Ancients, but from a greater source. The summoners of old…and the legendary Aeons, of which there's really no substantial historic record."

"You said Ifrit talked to you…"

"I don't want to speculate…" Tseng cut him off. "But, if Wutai developed a triple-slot materia tool, and if Ifrit is telling me that he is not whole right now, I think that Wutai is attempting to…_reassemble _the pieces, if you would, of the Aeons of the Ancients."

"Is…that good or bad?" Reeve asked innocently.

"Depends whose side you're on." Tseng tweaked subtly, and reached down to scratch his bug bite again. He knew it could have been a hell of a lot worse, if not for the topical salve.

"Allow me…" Reeve said, leaning over the end of the bed that Tseng was sitting on. Tseng looked at him oddly, but let him go on. The older man grabbed Tseng's foot and made him straighten out the leg. The welt hadn't grown any larger and perhaps even shrank a bit since being medicated. "Got faith in me?" he asked with a crooked grin.

Tseng cocked an eyebrow. "Just don't do anything to make it worse…"

Reeve closed his eyes. "All matter is energy, is it not?" Though his eyes were closed to the light and images around him, he could still see with his hands, and with his intuition. Tseng's foreleg and the 4-inch red welt on it were clear in his mind as his thumbs hovered over the irritation, focusing his intuitive eye, aligning his chakras, and channeling the necessary energies courtesy of a small green orb mounted in thin, silver bracelet.

Tseng watched an emerald aura creep around Reeve's hands, his own breathing slowing to a near stop as if not to disturb the other man's concentration. After a few extended seconds and heart beats went by, Reeve pulled his hands away, opened his eyes, and gasped. Tseng's chest tensed a little bit in reaction to Reeve's sudden change, but the executive merely slumped his shoulders, waiting momentarily for his own energy centers to realign since the break away from using magic.

"I'm sorry…" Reeve shook his head.

"You just need more confidence," said Tseng. "Glad I could at least provide you with a little practice. Though I must admit…" he brought his knee up to his chest as his hand reached to the welt on the side of his calf, "it's only half the reaction it was a few moments ago."

"Really?" Reeve stood up and looked at his handiwork. He folded his arms across his chest and gave Tseng a look. "Now, if you can use magic without materia, why didn't you just cure that yourself instead of suffering and spending a few Gil on medication?"

Tseng moved his feet to the floor and stood up. He kept his back to his company. "I'm not entirely focused right now. Something…happened." He stalled a bit, trying to first word it to himself. "When I was in the hangar with Hojo…trying to summon Ifrit… It's like I'm still tethered to that moment, or at least a part of me is."

"Can any of the elders help you with that?"

Tseng shook his head. "There are things that go on back home and within Wutai that I simply can not talk about to anyone, especially not in provinces that are not under Midgar's control. If anything, I needed a day or so here to think things over so that I can get my answers, while not divulging any secrets."

"You have a rough job."

"You don't know the half of it." Tseng took a deep breath and changed the topic. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow. I have to take a transport to Nibelheim where the Highwind will land to deliver supplies to the rebuilding effort. I guess as the engineer in charge of the rebuilding efforts, I get a few perks. I'd offer the Highwind to take you back to Midgar after your stay here is complete, but from the sounds of it…"

"I think by the time I'm finished here, Midgar will have a problem washing up on the coast in the form of Wutanese summoners. If you go back there, be careful. You might be heading into a war zone."

Reeve swallowed a lump in his throat. He wondered how much was speculation, and how much Tseng knew for fact, having once been a part of the faction swearing revenge since their humiliating defeat.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's notes: IF ANYTHING IN THIS FIC SEEMS CONFUSING, REFER TO THE INFORMATION LOCATED AT THE START OF CHAPTERS 1 AND 7 FOR CLARIFYING INFORMATION.

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


	6. Chapter 6

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter Six:  
__"Storm Front"_

_Author's Notes: With the exception of Rod and Klaus, the junior-rank Turks that appear in this chapter are NOT the ones from Before Crisis. I got the names Rod, Andrew, and Samantha from other sites that standardize the BC playable characters' names as such, but aside from the previously mentioned, the others are not from any version of the game or movies. Elena is HERSELF…she is NOT the blonde girl from BC. Also, partial purpose for this fic is to show how materia works…according to me. So when you see someone getting healed using a Cure spell, understand that it's radical intervention and hurts like HECK for a brief while as the body part heals itself hundreds of times faster than nature would, so it's painful for a while. The pain then goes away just about as soon as the healing is finished._

- - -

"What the bloody fuck was Heidegger talking about?" Reno barked at Rude the instant they and the rest of the Turks junior officers were a few paces out of the conference room where the general had given them a verbal pounding. "Tseng's AWOL…? Kill Tseng if you see him…? Tseng's a traitor who's working for an army of mages in Wutai bent on wiping Midgar off the map…? Just what the fuck is going on…_ugh!_"

Rude's hand lashed out and pummeled Reno into the wall with a thud before the younger Turk even knew what hit him. Rude's vise-grip painfully pressed against his colleague's collarbone, forcing him against the cold steel bulkhead. His brow was stiffly knitted above his dark glasses, and his face flushed red.

"Reno… Shut the hell up!" the strong, bald Turk snarled through clenched teeth, his victim writhing under the bone-crushing pressure that held him against the wall.

The junior staff members turned their heads to observe, walking by slowly yet knowing better than to try to deter Rude from hostility directed at anyone, including a fellow operative.

When Rude let Reno go, the younger Turk nearly fell over as his feet once again touched solid ground after the few agonizing seconds his upper body spent pinned to the wall. Reno's hand came up to grip his opposite shoulder, massaging away the burning pain his abused joint had suffered in the attack. He jogged a few steps to keep up with the others in his group as they reached the elevators. He hopped into the car before the doors shut.

Inside the lift, the doors shut to the office areas around them as they began the descent down the side of the tower. Reno winced as he let his shoulder go, flexing it tentatively to assure himself that no lasting harm had been done. He scowled at Rude while the junior staff nearly flattened themselves against the back wall of the car to stay as far away from the angry senior Turks as possible.

When the doors finally opened to the ground-level foyer leading to the Turks' private offices, everyone allowed Rude a few paces head start out of the lift before they followed.

Elena touched Reno's back as she walked up along side him. "I'm sorry, Reno," she said. "We intended to tell you what's been going on in your absence, but Heidegger called that emergency meeting before we had the chance to fully fill you in."

Reno wrenched himself away from her. "Yeah, well, a lot of fuckin' good that did me! I must've looked like the biggest slack-jawed idiot in that meeting cuz I hadn't a clue what that fat-ass was talking about half the time!"

Elena smiled faintly at the look of fury in Reno's now Mako-glowing eyes, amazed at how cute he looked with them even when angry. Her subtle expression wasn't enough to cut through the dark cloud that surrounded him.

"The hell with you and the underlings, Elena!" he snapped. "Had I known this was the mess I'd wake up, I would've fuckin' _died_ instead of living to see this fucked up day and putting up with all this shit!" He entered his office and kicked the door shut. His fists grabbed a cushion off the sofa along one side of the room, hurling it at the window where it hit the drawn-back vanes of vertical blinds. The blinds clattered wildly against each other in a chorus of rattling that just created more white noise in the Turk's confused, reeling mind.

He sat down heavily on the remaining cushion and draped his arm lazily over the back of the sofa. His sunglasses dropped from where they were propped up on his forehead. His hand reached up and swiped them off entirely, sending them sprawling onto the carpeted floor.

Eyes closed and burning with the first signs of tears, Reno ran his hand over his hot forehead and over the top of his flaming red hair in a vain attempt to quell his out of control emotions. He thought back to Sector 6, the fight that had left him in a coma for a few days, and the last words he'd said to Elena. His rational mind waged battle with his scattered emotions, one citing his will to live while the other tried to will him back into a coma and to eventual death. The first hot tear escaped and rolled down his cheek.

But even worse than letting his emotions tell him to take his own life was knowing that the next time he picked up a gun, it would be for hunting down and killing the man he respected more than even his own father… The man who'd taken him out of the slums and trained him to be one of the world's most elite mercenaries… The man who was a surrogate father, a mentor, and the best friend he'd known in his 23 years living…

"Tseng…" he hissed as the floodgates were torn down by an onslaught of hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

His, and all the Turks' orders, were to kill their own leader. According to Heidegger, Tseng was a traitor, a mole working for Wutai, and their top priority to eliminate.

How much easier it would be to just kill himself in Tseng's place…

Maybe then, the pain would go away.

- - -

Out in the hallway, Elena felt a comforting hand touch her shoulder, distracting her from worrying about the young, Mako-eyed Turk that had so violently disappeared into his office. The hand of her colleague seemed to catch her heart as it sank, bleeding for the pain she had to watch Reno endure after only a day back in the world of the conscious living.

Rod, the rusty-brown haired junior operative, put his arms around her and held her against his chest. Elena barely caught a glimpse of his soft brown eyes as he drew her into himself. Her arms reached around his back and held onto him firmly as she imagined that her emotional out-pouring of compassion was being directed at Reno, who Rod closely resembled at a quick glance.

He'd heard Reno's harsh words and knew that they'd been shouted in a blind rage. The meeting had been stressful for everyone. Heidegger had spent thirty minutes red in the face about the goings on in Shinra and the bad publicity that was already circulating in the media and public about instability within the company. As Rod held Elena in his arms, he couldn't help but think about the senior Turk and the shock that the outpouring of news must've been for someone who'd been in a coma for several days, oblivious to the corporation falling apart around him.

His hands gripped her shoulders firmly as he tried to push her gently off his chest so he could look her squarely in the eyes. "It's all right…" he said, holding her at a forearm's length away from his chest. She looked back at his serene brown eyes, tears welling up in her own. But they were only partly for Reno.

Her tears, like Reno's, were also for Tseng.

- - -

Bad attitudes, shocking news, and even salty tears had to be pushed aside no more than half an hour later. The Mako reactor in Sector 1 reported a major security breech, and all of the president's and Heidegger's fears were starting to come true.

Avalanche was reported attacking the security gates outside the restricted perimeter around the reactor. The president's media campaign to assure the public that Shinra was in no state of disarray was a front, and groups like Avalanche were clever on seeing through it and knowing the assurances meant the total opposite.

Klaus, Elena, and Rod were deployed to the reactor area to assist the posted soldiers in dispatching Avalanche operatives. Rude and Reno tailed the president and vice president in the main building while the remainder of junior operatives remained on stand-by alert. Heidegger assumed command of the Turks' efforts. Rude had seen him do that in the past, taking the place of former Turks' leader, Veld. The general succeeded only in making a bigger mess of things. Without Veld, or even now Tseng, to back Heidegger up and be there for when the floor fell out from under him, the other Turks could only foresee disaster. Demoralizing as it could have been, for their own survival they had to be extra sharp and do everything they could to not let a catastrophe hit their ranks.

Rod and Klaus sped to Reactor One on supped up Daytona motorbikes…which Rod himself customized and increased the performance of for the Turks' use. Elena rode shotgun on the back of Rod's as he drove, still able to outpace Klaus on an equal bike. Elena prepared materia and hand pistols for the likely battle to come from her seat on the back of the bike with her innate ability to do so even at the break-neck speeds they were traveling.

"Great fucking timing…" Rufus muttered to Reno as they holed up in Tseng's office back at the center of the city. He and the Turk were alone in the spacious room, Rufus feeling like nothing more than a prisoner despite being with a trusted friend.

"Sounds like a lot has happened in the time I was out," Reno said, still able to be both a friend and a vigilant bodyguard to the vice president.

_He doesn't know…_ Rufus thought while silently studying Reno's iridescent eyes. _Avalanche won't come after me. Reno would be better off somewhere else right now._

"Sir?" Reno asked, turning his head slightly as he focused on the young man's gaze. His pale cheeks flushed a subtle red as he was sure the vice president was studying his now most outstanding feature.

Rufus' scrutinizing gaze softened. "Nothing…" he said.

Reno blinked and turned back to look at the closed office door. "My senses are a bit sharper now than I remember them being," the red haired Turk said, knowing Rufus would get his reference instantly. "I can hear better…see better… I can even sense other people's presence much more acutely, even through solid walls. But the one thing I can't do…is find Tseng."

It was a hint…a request for information. The senior Turks knew Rufus and Tseng, and they knew they had things kept secret from even the young man's father. Part of being an effective Turk was to know that secrets were being kept and overcoming the curiosity or need to know them. The fact that Rufus seemed excessively concerned at the moment was curious, but Reno knew better than to ask.

"Tseng is safe…" Rufus said bluntly, his eyes trailing away from the Turk standing across from Tseng's desk, just in case those Mako eyes turned to him with an inquisitive look.

But Reno's head lowered slightly, and he did not turn around. _How do you know…? _his mind asked, knowing better than to let his voice speak it aloud.

Rufus looked out the windows behind him which overlooked Sector 2. To the left was Reactor One, towering over the foreground of cluttered buildings out on the plate, including the theater district. Dashing across the metallic city plate were roadways, one of which had highly skilled junior operatives rushing to the scene of an attack orchestrated by a group that Rufus himself hired for one single purpose. Turks were harder to replace. Avalanche could always find new members, but the only one Rufus cared about was the one that would perhaps one day kill his father. If there was one destined to do so out there, he had no idea. He respected the Turks, but they ultimately stood in the way of Avalanche completing the task which they were paid to do. Perhaps Avalanche and their constant influx of members coming in to replace ones the Turks did away with were losing sight of the goal asked of them.

Beyond the reactors steaming out clouds of light gray smoke was the rest of the world. The horizon was far and out of sight behind the endless metallic sea. The sky was marred by smog rising from the reactor's output. Greenish black sky overhead changed hues to orange and red nearer the horizon.

Across the unseen ocean was a man who could make everything right, if only the president would listen and open his mind up to forces still around from yesteryear. For someone so interested in finding the Promised Land, his father sure had a closed mind to anything else mystical.

"Do you wanna know a secret?" Rufus found himself asking.

"Not really," Reno immediately replied, more out of habit than anything.

Rufus stood up and walked to Reno's side of the desk. He stood next to the Turk, viewing the man's profile and one of the Mako eyes as they continued to look straight ahead instead of over to him. Reno kept that gaze so not to indicate any interest in secrets that Rufus might wish to reveal.

Rufus studied the focused Mako eye and the curved red tattoo marking along the cheekbone under and to the side of it. The matching eye and tattoo on the other side still faced away from the VP's sight. His own glare into Reno penetrated the Turk's fortified aura and pierced deep into his inner being, so much that Reno couldn't keep uninterested.

He turned sharply to the blond man next to him, his eyes narrowing. _Tseng teach you that? _he thought loudly in his mind, annoyed with the way the younger man bored into him with just a look.

The corner of Rufus' mouth curled upward in satisfaction.

"It's about Tseng, isn't it?" Reno said if only to spur Rufus on to cease the torture.

Rufus turned to walk back to his side of the desk. "If that's what you want to know, then yes."

"I'm not asking to know _any_thing!" Reno snapped, turning his body to face Rufus now situated behind Tseng's desk once again.

"Since you don't mean that, I'll tell you what I know…and the part that I've played to get Tseng where he is right now…"

Rod dropped to his knees, and Elena was right there for him. One arm curled around his torso to keep him from falling prone while the other hand managed the back-up, reserve pistol she'd taken from the side of her boot. It was all she could do to fend off the few remaining Avalanche members now that the battle had turned to hand-to-hand combat.

_Damn Soldiers are just in the way! _Klaus thought, his teeth clenched for his dislike of having to operate along side of them. He preferred working alone, and having to jump between dumbstruck Privates just to reach the enemy was enough to drive him mad. Though it would drop their odds to statistical disfavor, he felt that the three Turks could have better managed the stand-off against Avalanche rather than having the accompaniment of Shinra's so-called army.

Soldiers who were in his way were increasingly becoming targets, much as Klaus would have hated to waste his strength and his little remaining ammo on taking them out, potentially having to answer to his superiors should they find he was responsible.

Elena used elemental magic to send a burst out around herself to clear enemies away from her and Rod. Her elemental-nullifying armor kept her safe, and nothing short of a miracle kept the magic from harming the already wounded man behind her.

Avalanche finally pulled out, taking as many of their casualties with them. The gate leading to Reactor One was heavily damaged, but it was up to Shinra to find the proper defenses to barricade the area while the Turks regrouped and returned to base in the center of the city.

Rod staggered on his feet, wincing as his hand continued to guard his abused side that had been struck by an enemy wielding a blunt piece of debris used as a club-type weapon. Elena helped him onto the back of Klaus' motorbike, and she drove the other machine back along the highways as they retreated to their base following the successful stand-off against the rebel group.

- - -

"Is your mind more at ease now?" Rufus asked, noting the somewhat blank stare in Reno's Mako eyes. Despite the information he gave to Reno, he had a feeling the Turk still knew there were gaps the VP hadn't filled in.

Reno looked around the room at the modest, but very personalized, décor of Tseng's office. From the swords to the hand-painted cloth scrolls bearing the artsy, pictographic written language of Wutai, there was so much of his commanding officer's life silently surrounding him. He didn't like the last set of orders handed down to himself and his fellow Turks. If so, the décor would be orphaned and made into nothing more than an epitaph of the greatest Turk who ever lived.

"Heidegger wants us to kill Tseng if we find him," Reno said, as if a thought could save the man and the fabulously humble collection of Western culture around them. Not that Rufus hadn't already known.

"I can override the general's orders," Rufus replied with confidence. "But not this one. I know that he's only ordered the Turks to do that because my _father_ was the one to have him do so. And I can not override my father's orders. It would be so much easier if Tseng were here because I have him ignore dad's and Heidegger's orders all the time. I'm sure you've noticed he's very good about making it not look like such acts of defiance."

"I had a feeling…"

"I'm not sure _what_ I believe right now," Rufus continued. "Dad and his Promised Land…Wutai and their mythology… Cosmo Canyon and the fact that they seem to have all the answers to the mysteries of the planet…but do they really? Who is right? Is _any_one right? Are we messing with forces the world is not ready for?"

"Hmm…maybe you have been around Tseng for too long. I don't ever remember hearing you ponder such…intellectual mysteries."

Rufus shook his head. "I won't be entirely disappointed if Wutai does something to _off _my father. But right now I feel that if they did, I'd be in the line of fire too. If they're after anyone, it's Shinra as a whole. I can't inherit a company if it's destroyed all around me, nor can I inherit it if I myself am not around to have it."

"But if Tseng's in Cosmo Canyon and is possibly the only hope we have at stopping them…?" Reno ceased all philosophical debates as he heard voices in the corridor in ways that raised concern. Perhaps it was just his heightened, Mako-enhanced senses, but he and Rufus piled out of Tseng's office together as though both sensed something off about the trio returning from the battle front.

Sure enough, Rod looked ready to pass out. The concerned Elena walked at his side while Klaus held the rusty-brown haired operative's arm around his shoulders to help the exhausted young man stay standing. Rod groaned, half dragging his feet, as if the sight of being back "home" in the Turks' offices was his ticket to give into his fatigue and injury. Klaus had no choice but to ease Rod to the floor as the younger man's body gave in to apparent shock.

In a few near-sprinting strides, Reno was there at the fallen man's side as well. He took over for Klaus, who gladly stepped aside to catch his breath from hauling Rod in from the parking garages. Reno cradled Rod's head and shoulders in his lap. Rufus, apparently curious and not too willing to stray far from his assigned body guard, converged on the scene as well, standing over them.

Elena knelt over Rod's writhing form while Reno steadied the man's upper body and reached for his cell phone to try to locate Rude. She hurried to open the front of Rod's dress shirt, pushing his neck-tie aside rather than loosening or removing it. She'd seen him take the blunt hit during the fight. Now, she was seeing the fresh bruise over the ribs on the left side of the man's chest that gave visual evidence to just how hard a blow it had been. Even Rufus leaned in to get a closer look at the fleshly damage.

"Oh, Rod…had I known you were hurting this bad…" she spoke softly, her hand reaching up to his sweat-covered face which was looking paler than even Reno's perpetually fair complexion. The injured man panted for breath, each inhalation stretching his rib cage and further irritating the pain. Pain or oxygen starvation…his body made its choice, and he'd just have to bear with the pain.

"I think he'll live, Elena," Reno said, snapping his cell phone shut and pocketing it in his blazer. "Rude's on his way, and Andrew is taking over his post guarding the president."

"What can Rude do for him? We should get him to the infirmary…"

Reno grinned slightly even as Rod's head lolled to one side, loss of consciousness imminent. "Stick around and see the difference between the boys and the men of the Turks…"

Rude arrived shortly, orbs of green materia and vials of alchemical potions ready. The deepening purple-red bruise clearly announced the site of the damage, but the bald Turk still used an orb of yellow sensory materia to evaluate it's extent beyond the depth of the visible skin. Rod was too out of it to notice, but he was near-traumatically shocked back to a pain-wracked state of awareness once Rude began administering the magic of alchemical and materia healing.

The once dull, throbbing pain was replaced with a sharp, pinching sting over his fractured rib. The blaze of pain seared his nerves, abusing even the ones that weren't yet overly sensitive and buzzing from the initial injury. Pain like the hottest, glowing red iron prod stabbed his flesh… Pain like the cold burn of absolute-zero ice tortured his salty sweat covered flesh…

He writhed even as Reno held him down. His voice screamed in blind agony as the pain threatened to knock him comatose rather than just unconscious.

The excruciating pain would last only a minute as the body was locally stressed to thousands of times more rapid healing forces than it was accustomed to. Changes in the molecular structure that knitted bone ends back together occurred so rapidly that surrounding nerves buzzed with protest to the constantly changing infrastructure around the site. Endorphins could not calm the nerves fast enough as cells morphed and multiplied, piecing things back to the way nature intended.

Elena watched, her brow knitted in concern. Her eyes were deeply retracted as if trying to avoid being inflicted with the same hurt that her comrade was writhing under. Nearby, Rufus observed as though a child watching his father euthanize a gravely injured puppy. Rude, behind the dark glasses and stoic face, was just as focused and complacent as he needed to be for the situation. He knew what he was doing.

Rod's body finally went limp, and Rude's hands retracted from the discolored flesh, the emerald glow of healing materia softly fading from around them. Reno could feel the man, once laboring for breath, breathe much easier. Rude rolled up his patient's sleeve and injected 40mL of a chemical elixir into Rod's arm vein.

The episode of pain was finally over, and it was like night compared to day for the man as he was released from the radical side-effects of the magical manipulation of his cellular structure.

Reno's eyes followed him as he stood up, putting his materia and vials of medicine back into his blazer pocket. "Tseng doesn't like us using materia-based healing that much," Reno said as if unappreciative of his partner's efforts.

"Times like this are different," Rude's bass voice defended his actions. "Besides, Tseng isn't here. I'm……" he paused. "…Heidegger's in charge. And he didn't say not to."

Reno's attention shifted back to Rod as the medication distributed itself through his blood stream and gave him back that which his injury had taken away. The color had returned to the junior operative's face, and his eyes opened and looked much more focused as he scanned the hallway and the people around him.

"You're okay now…" Reno said, putting some pressure on Rod's back and shoulders to encourage him to sit up on his own.

Rod did, freeing himself from the senior officer's lap and comforting arms. His arm instinctually curled back around his torso, hand splayed out over the visibly lessening bruise that still covered the repaired bone. "I'm sorry…" he said in nearly a sigh.

Klaus reached a hand down and felt a wonderful resurgence of strength as Rod gripped it back, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He began to rebutton his shirt, content to cover up the ugly welt that would still remain for a week or so despite the significant reduction of the rib injury.

Rude soon emerged from the nearby armory room, the metallic lock clicking itself shut behind him. "I didn't want to raise alarm earlier, but as I was returning here, reports came in of insurgents approaching the center of the city. Soldier is trying to hold them off, but it seems our acting commander allowed us to fall for the decoy trick by sending some of us to the reactor earlier." He looked over at Rufus, his face showing no sign behind the dark glasses that he cared to apologize for tonally insulting the General of the Shinra Army.

"He's a jerk," Rufus flicked his hand through his blond hair.

The junior staff took ammo clips and grenades to restock their armaments. Samantha was assigned to stay with Rufus. Klaus, Elena, Reno, and Rude would join the front lines of the impending attack, should Avalanche breech the hastily gathered barricade of soldiers around the main tower's perimeter. Rod, still sore from the prior battle, took on the challenging position overseeing the operation, a task usually done by the extremely talented Tseng. The burden of responsibility was almost more painful a burden to bear than having Rude repair his cracked bone. No one could replace Tseng.

No one.

- - -

Elder Bugah solidly planted the bottom of his staff into the wooden floor with a thud that echoed through the boards. "You shall not pass," he said firmly, a manner of speaking that Tseng was more used to dealing out than taking.

"The oracles and teachers of this valley can not withhold vital information at a time like this," the Turk's voice remained smooth as his words glided to the other man's ears with no hint of friction. He carried no weapons on him, not that he expected anyone to believe it. He held his hands at his sides, palms open for the elder to see as a gesture of good will. "My affiliation with Shinra is a mere circumstance that has no bearing on the reason I come, nor my decision to try to do what is right for the planet."

"If you wanted to do what was right for the planet, you'd turn on Shinra and melt Midgar back down to titanium slag that no longer steals energy from the planet's life blood," the elder had no fear dealing with the Wutan like so many others in the world did. "Besides, we restrict access to this area from even the people of this valley. Despite your notoriety, you are no more special than they."

The elder lifted his staff and brought both arms out to his sides slowly outward, lights like amber fireflies rising up from the ground and manifesting around his fists. Tseng took a step back, his eyes staying firmly fixed on the elder, unwavering and serving only to reflect the light of accumulating chi in their glistening surface.

"No need," came the voice of a man even older than Elder Bugah himself.

"Master Bugenhagen…" the monk opened his fists, flicking his fingers out in a way that harmlessly dispersed the accumulated energy, canceling the manifestation of the Fire element that he planned on using if Tseng hadn't heeded his warnings.

Tseng turned his head slightly, his dark and slanted eyes gathering the image of the small but wise man in their peripheral range.

"This isn't Mr. Wulong's first visit to Cosmo Canyon."

"Please, sir…" Tseng hissed, his voice tensing up in a way that mimicked pain.

Thick tinted glasses covered Bugenhagen's eyes, but the Turk could tell the short man was looking up and studying his face. The eldest Elder interlocked his hands in front of him and drew them back into the cuffs of his sleeves and out of sight as the scent of burning wood from Cosmo Candle drifted by, getting sucked into the drafty cave entrance they were standing in.

"I'm sorry," said the elder. "I see you lost that name since the last time you visited the Valley of the Fallen Star."

"Not in the manner that most people do, Master," Tseng closed his eyes and bowed shallowly. "I had it done for myself, to get me out of the fraternity and banished from not only Wutai, but banished from those who I mistakenly shared my in-born talents with."

"And you shall never be called by your family name again… Accept an old man's apologies."

"Yes, Master…" Tseng could not bow deep enough to lower his head below the man's who he was addressing, so he instead knelt down, bowing as far down as he could before the esteemed elder.

"Call my grandson," Bugenhagen asked of Elder Bugah. "We will enter the Chamber, and the young warrior can gain valuable experience in dealing with lesser fiends we're sure to encounter inside."

"Yes, Chief…" the inferior elder bowed before hurrying off to find the one his master requested.

Bugenhagen turned to Tseng. "If I remember right, you were also the last outsider who entered this Chamber. The Planet must either have much affection for you, or it may just be very afraid of your person."

"Sometimes, it's both." Tseng rose back to his full height.

"Cosmo Canyon is strongest aligned to the element of Fire, yet your spirit comes here with the dominance of the Water element which you get from your native land. Being it's opposite, I'm surprised that the Fire Incarnate is so willing to interact with you."

"It never hurts to love your enemy," Tseng shrugged, finally finding use for the seemingly illogical proverb that was popular among some of the world's communities.

"Nanaki will accompany us into the Chamber. I have brought him there before. He is young for his species, only 14 by human standards. But he will be able to fend off the lesser fiends and disorganized energies of specters that reside within the catacombs, leaving you fully able to connect with the cosmic forces that lie in there without worrying about the demons. Please trust him. He is a strong warrior, like his parents. Allow your Master Eye to open fully and leave the fiends to him."

"I will," Tseng replied with a deep breath, looking up at the sealed iron doors to the cavern. Glowing glyphs hovered over the gateway in non-material form, but stand too close and even the most spiritually numb person would feel them repel such intruding bodies away.

A four-legged animal with fur flaming red like Reno's hair walked into the alcove behind them. "I'm here, grandpa," the noble beast spoke. Tattoos of his tribal status marked his fur, beads woven into his mane clattered gently together, and the gold bracelets above his front paws reflected the distant flickering of the Cosmo Candle in the center of the main town.

Tseng turned and acknowledged the speaking animal. Though the creature reminded the Turk of Rufus Shinra's beast, Dark Nation, this one with the fiery tail was an aristocrat by compare, reducing Dark Nation to the rank of some feral alley cat.

"Hello, Nanaki," Tseng said pleasantly to the intelligent animal. Nanaki never seemed to fully trust him, but likely fed off of Bugenhagen's trust and comfort level around the Turk. He padded over to Tseng and sat on his hind legs, head inclined downward as he invited the man to raise a hand to stroke the short hairs of his mane originating at the top of his head.

Tseng did so, knowing that some day Nanaki would be old enough that he no longer favored being pet by humans. He didn't do so for long out of respect for the animal's advancing in age an maturity level.

"Shall we?" Bugenhagen asked rhetorically, approaching the glyph-covered gateway to begin dismantling the enchantment.

- - -

One by one, elevator doors opened in the first floor lobby and let senior and junior level Turks alike out onto the main floor. They'd taken separate cars for security reasons. The lobby was already full of soldiers, some of them First Class.

Rod was already positioned with a few snipers along the mezzanine overlooking the main entrance.

Machine gun fire popped like mad outside, and all anyone inside could do was wait and try to see past the front line of Soldiers blocking most everyone else's vision as they stood facing the thick tinted glass windows that lined the building's first floor entrance. The guns didn't cease even as its target caught fire, the armored vehicle having enough momentum that it continued on towards the building even after its fuel tank had exploded and its driver was killed from multiple gunshot wounds.

Soldiers in the front line of the lobby tried to part ways, moving out of the way of the rolling fireball as it barreled unstoppably towards the front of the building. Reno leapt onto the short wall lining the staircase to the second floor, getting out of the way of Soldiers as they crowded one another trying to get out of the path of the suicide truck.

Glass and fire scattered everywhere as the vehicle broke through, thick black smoke billowing outward from the wreckage and taking only a few short seconds to set off the fire alarm and sprinkler system. Soldiers ran from the trashed vehicle, few taking the time to help fallen comrades who'd been hit by the vehicle itself or flying debris.

Reno moved the arm away that blocked his face from the shower of glass in time to be pelted by drenching water fanning from the overhead pipes and sprinklers. The cold water did nothing to improve his already sour mood. His fist tightened around the grip of his electro-mag rod 'til his knuckles turned white. His other hand gripped the edge of the half-wall he was crouched upon, waiting for a break in the sea of fleeing soldiers.

"Isn't it rather unlike Avalanche to have very poor timing like this?" Rod asked the four other Turks below through their electronic ear pieces.

"The fuck, man…?" Reno hissed, already annoyed at Rod's blatant inability to replace Tseng as a competent battle logistics operative. "They're only here 'cuz some jerk in charge let word reach the streets about Shinra's condition!"

"Was the reactor just a decoy for this? If so, why not attack our base while we're still out there, not give us a chance to return and regroup?"

Reno watched soldiers around him scour the trashed remains of the truck while others scouted outside on both ends of the building to check for a follow up invasionary force. "Over-think every situation like that, Rod, and you'll find yourself getting killed," he said back, talking loudly into the fiber-optic mic that hugged its way down one of his cheeks from his earpiece.

"Soldiers are reporting an all-clear outside," Rude's voice entered the communications stream.

"Huh?" Reno whacked his EMR against the wall with a thud, tired of being pulled in so many directions in one day…especially being that it was the first full day he'd had outside of a hospital bed in nearly a week. "Why all the fuss then and some suicide Avalanche driver throwing a 5-ton stone through our front window?"

"Reactor 6 is reporting a disturbance," Rude added dry and to the point, offering no further details.

"Could this be a decoy to keep us away from the reactors?" Rod asked, starting to make his way down the sloping stairs from the second floor.

Reno ripped his headset off. "Shut him up, Rude!" he snapped, storming up to the man currently the most in charge of their group aside from the bungling Heidegger.

Rude just shoved Reno aside with one hand to the younger Turk's chest. His other hand flipped open his cell phone and moved it to his ear. Rude strained to hear the frantic voice on the other side of the line, a Shinra captain calling in from the perimeter post of the Sector 6 reactor.

The man's voice cut off suddenly, but the roar Rude and the others around him heard was not just coming from the speaker of the cell phone. It rattled through every beam and cross-bar of the city's plates, buzzing the heavy glass windows of the 70-story tower. A wall of wind and water shattered its way to the hub of the city, originating in the direction of Sector 6 to the right of the demolished lobby.

The bulkheads of buildings, vehicles, and even people were caught up in the mysterious storm. Waves of white water broke over the roofs and corners of any structure still standing on the Sector 6 plate, scattering its unprecedented energies a hundred feet into the sky. Debris from the broken glass strewn all around the lobby scattered like sharp, jagged projectiles. Reno hopped off the half-wall and sat on the stairs, his back to the wall he'd been standing on in order to use it to block the wind and debris kicked up behind him.

Shortly after the initial elemental blast, the deadly forces of the sudden storm eventually quelled. The after-effects of so much displaced water rising into the dirty skies over the city resulted in a spontaneous deluge of rain that knocked even the patrolling Shinra helicopters out of the sky. Water flooded into offices whose windows had not survived the initial shockwave and had shattered inward.

A few surviving eye-witnesses would later report stories of a demonic sea creature beyond the reactor ring of the elevated city, its body distorting the shapes of the clouds in the sky as though it were made of water itself. The translucent serpent then slid down from the sky and out of sight. The only evidence it was ever there was the devastated remains of buildings once situated on Midgar's Sector 6 plate. The reactor servicing the plate cracked and spewed a green-black cloud into the sky even though its fail-safes had already shut down the reaction processes going on within, preventing a catastrophic melt-down.

Rude tried, but he couldn't raise Tseng on the cell phone. It was safe to assume communications towers were at least temporarily inoperable. Now was not a time for him to have lost touch with the only person who could possibly explain the disturbing events that had hit the city so out of the clear blue ocean and sky.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's notes: IF ANYTHING IN THIS FIC SEEMS CONFUSING, REFER TO THE INFORMATION LOCATED AT THE START OF CHAPTERS 1 AND 7 FOR CLARIFYING INFORMATION.

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


	7. Chapter 7

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter Seven:  
__"Blazing Fires"_

_(Author's Note: The events taking place in sector 6 were conceived as far back as June 2005 and are IN NO WAY inspired by tropical events taking place in the Atlantic and southern United States. It's merely a coincidence that my story idea sounds a bit like what's gone on down there.)_

_Notes on this fic and the Junior Turks:_

_1. The ONLY "Before Crisis" Turks I'm using are Rod and Klaus. Rod is the one with reddish hair that resembles Reno, and Klaus is the male with 2-tone hair color. Elena is ELENA, from FF7…not the blonde BC girl. I go by the assumption that she was a junior Turk 3 years before FF7 and gets promoted in-game._

_2. This fic is VERY alternate-universe and does not conform rigidly to FF7 or any of its related games/movies. Though I do pull common themes and places, as the author, I have taken creative license in making a fic that exists "apart" from the cannon FF7 events._

_3. I do not know why reformats my section breaks, but I have attempted to correct them here. I will try to correct other chapters later, but I use dial-up service and successfully uploading ANYthing is hit-or-miss at best. If these fics are difficult to read, they are ALSO posted on my personal website…see address in my profile page._

_4. FYI – the Master Eye is not the same as the Third Eye. The Master Eye goes a step beyond the Third Eye (which everyone has) and is more focused and stronger than the Third Eye. It is actually located to the left and right of the Third Eye in the form of 2 "eyes" (one above each eyebrow.) People possessing such an "eye" are usually mystics or clairvoyants. The mysticism in this fic is based on real beliefs, but are modified for fiction use._

- - -

A continuous video loop of still and motion photography was already set playing in the main conference room when the meeting's attendees arrived. Scenes, mostly shot by Shinra's journalism staff, showcased the devastation caused above and below the Sector 6 plate. Small buildings leveled…cars washed up against store fronts…taller building with missing windows from the middle floors down.

In the slums, fall-out from the flood waters rained down between expansion joints and gaps on the plate. Though the slums escaped any major sort of damage, the greatest casualty was a parking yard of train cars on sidings in the mid-section that had the most water and debris from above fall upon them.

The array of film and photos continued to play as the president, vice president, and other senior staff members sat down at the large wooden table where so many other crucial business meetings had been held before.

Heidegger stood in the front corner, arms folded stiffly across his chest and fists clenched as though waiting for a victim to strike. The president's brow was set firmly, the weight of the developing situation mixed with his own convictions on who to blame weighed heavily on his features. Rufus stood behind his father on the opposite side as Heidegger, his face revealing little. His short-barrel shot gun dangled in the belt strap at his side.

Rude and Reno seated themselves next to one another, attentive yet relaxed expressions to their faces as they remained cool and collected as would be expected of people of their discipline. Scarlet seated herself at the far end of the table, as if in reserve to chime in when there was good time for her to.

The door was shut, and even the intercom which normally transmitted speech from the meetings to a stenographer was turned off.

Audio played along with the news footage on the screen. Eye witness accounts universally claimed it was the deity, Leviathan, who was to blame for the water elemental attack. But one very out-spoken source had little to say of the other-worldly beast and more to say about the company who they opposed.

"It was that damn Shinra!" Avalanche leader, Barret Wallace made the accusation to a media source unaffiliated with the energy company. "Those bastards above would destroy their own city just to get to us! Don't they see we're trying to _save_ the planet?"

"Shut it off!" the president barked, fingers clawing around the edge of the table until after Masashi had terminated the audio accompanying the videos still playing.

"Three-quarters of the Sector 6 plate has been destroyed, including the Mako reactor!" Heidegger growled. "What are we supposed to say to the public?"

"I already know who's to blame, but even a scape-goat won't appease them now," the president countered. "I hope you two are happy!" he turned sharply to the pair of Turks at the table.

Rude's face didn't flinch. Reno's eyes just narrowed subtly, but enough to give a look that more or less called the older man a son of a bitch.

"We can't trust _any_ of them!" Heidegger's voice boomed. His hand reached to his hip holster, palm and fingers gripping his pistol. He was prodded from behind before his weapon was even drawn.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rufus sneered at the scruffy army general.

The shot gun was removed from his back as Heidegger wisely left his side arm at his side. "Sir!" he addressed the president as if the whole Rufus incident hadn't happened. "Tseng is selling us out! That..._thing _that washed out half of Sector 6 was his doing, I'm sure of it! How can we trust any of the Turks after that, since they were under that traitor's command and all?"

"Hrmph…" the president chewed his cigar thoughtfully, his thick blond eyebrows dropped low over his eyes.

Rude and Reno both felt compelled to defend both themselves and their superior. They faced indecision as to whether they should say anything at the risk of digging a deeper hole. The vice president solved their dilemma for them.

"Father…" Rufus slid his shot gun back into its holster and walked off to the president's side and nearer to the Turks. "Tseng had absolutely nothing to do with the attack on Sector 6."

"And you know this _how?_" Heidegger barked. The president raised a hand to shut the general up.

"You think so, huh?" the man's blue eyes bored through the vice president, unseen psychic energies attempting to put pressure on him. But Rufus was far more resilient and sure-minded to give into attempts at intimidation.

"Tseng is no where near Midgar…" Rufus paced the room slowly. "I sent him away."

"What?" the president stood up, slamming his palms on the table.

"Are you a traitor, too, boy?" This time Heidegger had his hand gun drawn and aimed across the table in no time at all.

The president reached a hand out and pushed down on Heidegger's arm to get him to lower the weapon, which he'd been pointing right at Rufus. He looked back at his son, square in the eyes. "Son…if you _ever_ want to live long enough to inherit this company, you will tell me everything you know."

Rufus folded his arms across his chest and flicked his head back. "As long as you promise to stop hunting down an innocent man."

"You're in no position to give orders, Son!"

"Will you fuckin' _listen_ to me, Father?"

"Insolent boy!" Heidegger retorted, punctuating his sentence with a shot from his pistol. Rude and Reno were on their feet instantly, their own hand guns drawn and aimed at the army general. Heidegger shifted his aim immediately to them, cocking the gun for another shot.

"Don't you dare…" Rude's bass voice stated firmly at his superior.

"Maybe this time I won't miss…" Heidegger gritted his teeth, sight aimed right between Reno's eyes, and the Turk knew it.

"Gentlemen…?" Scarlet's feminine voice cut through the lines of hostility shooting across the table. No one's eyes turned to her, even as she stood up out of her seat and approached Rufus. She flashed him a wink as she drew up beside him, curving her neck and shoulders gracefully as her narrow green eyes glinted at him in the dim light of the room. She looked across the table at Heidegger and the president. "Though I admit Tseng has been acting suspiciously lately, he's not the only one." She smiled at Rufus, bumping her hip and shoulder lightly into his side.

If it was her intent to make Rufus uncomfortable or nervous, it wasn't working.

She turned her head back at the young man's father. "The Wutanese government has as well."

"I helped Tseng escape," Rufus said bluntly. "He's in Cosmo Canyon right now. And he's not trying to _destroy_ us…he's trying to _save_ us! Father…" he resented that word, but he had to say it. "You have been short-sighted and blind. Wutai _wants_ this hostility within our company. They _want_ to tear us apart. They could not defeat us in battle years ago, but they _can_ weaken us…enough that we succumb to their new magic before we even have a chance to formulate an offensive. General Heidegger…you of all people…"

Heidegger slowly lowered his weapon, his gaze shifting from the Turks to the vice president. Rude and Reno immediately withdrew their weapons as well.

"Father…"

The president's features didn't soften. His jaw was still clenched, his cigar a hopeless victim between his teeth.

"…If only you hadn't been so fast to blame Tseng and refuse further investigation to find the truth…"

"You're saying you know more than me about this?" President Shinra gripped the edge of the table. "You willingly withheld information from me, and from the general of the Shinra Army?"

Rufus took a few steps away from Scarlet and back towards the Turks. "You didn't appear ready to listen. But I seem to have your attention now…"

"Damn right you do, boy…" the president sat back down, his eyes never leaving his son's. No one was leaving the room until he got all the information that had been hidden from him up to now.

- - -

Nanaki sniffed the air as he pawed his way along the deteriorated path through the chamber's catacombs. His mane seemed to be in a constant state of bristling, just waiting for a demonic manifestation to try him again. He'd already dispatched one earlier.

Bugenhagen deactivated another glyph seal, and another door opened up for them. The musty stench of the chamber hit them, Nanaki's more sensitive nose taking in far more of the mildew scent. He winced, nearly missing the spectre that came out at them.

Tseng had to continue reaching deep inside of himself to draw up the trust for the young native animal as a warrior. His shifting mental and metaphysical focus would either attract a demon such as a spectre, or would make him totally invisible. Different spirit types reacted differently. The Turk leader closed his eyes and remained drawn to the inner world.

He missed Bugenhagen's magic, a Life spell that drained the death out of the undead. Nanaki himself could do little against such a non-material foe. Life drained Death, and Death drained Life. The spectre's energy field was cancelled out by the opposing force, and it was soon gone.

"Let's proceed," said Bugenhagen, taking the first steps into the damp chamber.

Tseng loosely opened his eyes and followed the light of the small glyphs on the wall that streamed with energy as Bugenhagen activated a large materia orb that would power them for a while. His light trance kept him only half in his altered state, but they were now in the final chamber, and the place where Water would meet Fire.

Light from the glyphs illuminated the walls in yellow, but the rock walls soon radiated red from a location deeper inside the tomb. The chain of glyph lights on the left was interrupted by a mature crystal formation jutting out from the natural stone wall. The break in energy transfer caused the remainder of the glyphs on that side to remain dark and unlit. Their light no longer mattered; the chamber up ahead was producing its own light.

"Huge Materia…" Tseng muttered.

"It is said that over the centuries, the red materia crystals you see here formed because it's the place that the Spirit of Fire returned to once it was banished from its original connection to the Planet," said the elder. "Materia in this form goes far beyond the orbs that people use in weapons and armor, or can even draw from in order to manifest the element or wisdom of the ancients into the world."

Tseng put his hand over his forehead. The two Master's Eye points, one above each eyebrow, were burning. His chakras were held open by an external source, and forced even wider. There was no controlling his entrance into an altered state.

His feet walked him out to the center of the chamber, to a glyph-inscribed floor made of pure red crystal. He dropped to his knees, arms draped limply to either side, and his head bowed down by the force of gravity and the relaxed state of his back and shoulders.

"Is everything okay, grandpa?" Nanaki asked quietly. "He…He's disappearing."

"In a way, yes. He's still there," the elder said with no particular concern. "The stronger a summon…the stronger an interaction with the Otherworld, the more change there is in one's energy field. His physical energy is just radiating at a different frequency, to a range not as visible to worldly eyes."

"Will he…?"

"It's normal. We can not do anything. It's between him and the Spirit of Fire now. Come, we must watch the foyer for any fiends that might be attracted to the light." Bugenhagen turned his back to the entranced Turk, and Nanaki followed, taking a few steps back into the tunnel of glyphs leading to the end chamber where Ifrit lived.

- - -

Soul…

Astral Body…

Emotional Body…

Mental Body…

And now, his Physical Body was there.

It was like nothing changed, yet everything had changed. The Underworld looked very much like the physical world that humanity normally lived in, but time and space was no longer an issue as astral gateways could be opened and closed at will in order for a consciousness to navigate.

This journey to the plane, Tseng could see. He was not blind as the last time, and he held the astral gateway open with such ease, it took virtually no energy expenditure to do so. Fires burned around him. Earthen-like rocks glowed red from their molten cores, yet none of the heat affected the Turk's body as such energy would in the physical world.

_Frail humans play with the Gates…_

There was no fear, not even when confronting the king elemental of the Spirit of Fire. His jagged black horns, as long as a Midgar metro bus, reflected a slight red hue from the burning stones around them on their otherwise matte finish. His powerful fists, clawed with black talons, were balled up and leaning on the ground in front of him. Hot orange patches of fur on brown flesh glowed with the Fire that he was made of. His eyes were hot coals, his face a demonic snout like a dog's, upper lip drawn up a bit to show a mouth full of sharp white fangs.

Tseng beheld the sight of the Aeon before him. His astral self floated an inch above the ground, toes pointed at the Underworld's ground but not quite touching it. His long hair shined in a metallic, and almost translucent, silver. His human eyes were closed, but the Master Eyes above each brow were wide open. The black dot that covered his Third Eye on his physical human flesh was gone and replaced with a clear Water crystal. His clothing did not manifest itself into the Underworld, for it was not needed. There was no bodily shame in the Astral realm…just pure forgotten-to-the-physical beauty of Creation and Spirit.

_I have vowed not to be one who taps into the powers not fitting for humanity,_ the Astral Tseng told Ifrit. _But as an ambassador with the gift, I must come to seek a counter-spell to the Summoning that my Wutanese brothers wish to manifest._

_It has already happened, _Ifrit replied. _Leviathan has lashed out at the Mako City._

_Midgar?_

_Midgar is a magnet for mal-aligned spirit energy. The first of the new Aeons has manifested on the Planet._

_No!_ Tseng's Emotional Body threatened to skip out of phase, potentially jeopardizing his focus on staying in the astral Underworld.

_Those I can tell you care about are safe. Only nameless simpletons have returned to the Planet as a result. But the one who brought Grand Summon Leviathan into the world is caught between worlds and can not remanifest._ Ifrit shook his head, hot breath of fire escaping out between fangs. _Grand Summons were a thing of the past. The Planet is not ready for them yet again. I am a true Aeon. Spirits such as Leviathan are quasi-Aeons… artificially created by the blending and mixing of defeated Aeon spirits in the astral Life Stream over the centuries. Leviathan was born from the free energies of Bahamut, Valefor, and Shiva. Even I, myself, am no longer whole since my banishing. Part of me resides in quasi-Aeons Phoenix and Kjata. It will take a major realignment of energies…one that may take longer than the life-span of this world, to return all the Aeons to their former selves… Materia was never meant to fall into the hands of humanity. But it is just beginning to form, and the orbs are small and manageable by the species. Only descendants of the Summoners…such as yourself…should be meddling in the affairs of the Aeons. Humanity is only breaking us apart more._

_But…_ Tseng fought a little bit to keep his energy pattern aligned to keep him in the Underworld. _The Kisarigi clan descended from the land ruled by the Spirit of the Warrior._

_The first Shinobi…Yojimbo. It is why they now meddle with forces they don't yet fully understand. Knowledge has been lost even over generations of Kisarigi. They act foolishly because their blood line's connection to the Shinobi is about to run out. A few more generations, and they will be too far gone from their astral roots. Their mages, being sent out to Grand Summon against Midgar, will die._

_But so will Midgar!_ Tseng realized, again fighting to keep focus. _How can they be stopped before both sides are annihilated?_

_The Life Stream does not like their power. Grand Summoning quasi-Aeons creates chaos and disorganizes and depletes our power. At least they are only summoning quasi-Aeons, because they are not as strong as the original. But humanity these days can not handle such powerful summoning. Dematerialization comes to those who try but do not have the right focus. Trapped between planes of existence, unable to return to any…THAT is Hell._

Tseng's astral feet lowered to the ground. "I understand…" he spoke, the reigns of the Middle World pulling him back to where he normally resided. "Careless Grand Summoning must be stopped before it destroys the Life Stream of the Aeons."

_That…or at least the damage has to end now, for it's already been marred. Like you have in the human world, small injuries heal. Death can not be cured._

Tseng's strength faltered. He had enough control left that he could close the gate behind him as he journeyed back into his default state of alignment. The etheric bodies returned to where his manifested form Creation gave him resided. The pieces overlayed atop one another, and his energy patterns leveled back out to the frequency of the physical world.

- - -

It was only during a break between warding off fiends trying to enter the chamber that Bugenhagen realized Tseng had returned from his astral journey. The Turk's body was slumped in its kneeling position even more, and he was starting to lean to one side.

One of Tseng's hands shot out to catch the ground before his body tipped over completely. He breathed again. His trance had made his body not require more than a few breaths per minute. Now, as he returned to his waking state, the physical systems had to return to a level able to maintain itself.

He straightened his back and felt the cold crystal floor beneath him. Bugenhagen was at his side.

"I'm okay…" the Turk said, taking the offered hand to help himself back to his feet.

"We shouldn't stay if you can walk. The light of the glyphs is attracting fiends, as well as other terrestrial insects…which get rather large in the catacombs where humans rarely tread."

Tseng took a few seconds standing at his full height to assess that he'd been properly re-grounded in the physical world and felt fine. He nodded his head. "I'm ready. Let's go."

- - -

"It's a glorious day! I never thought we would actually see one!" Professor Hojo was a little too happy given the situation that had everyone else in the room rather sober. "If they're using Grand Summons, then perhaps we can do something against them, maybe even finding a way to Grand Summon Sephiroth!" Hojo's mood seemed to change and he put a fist to his chin in thought. "Although the process could take us over 100 years to perfect, and to find someone powerful enough to do it."

The president just shook his head, wondering sometimes why he bothered to consult the professor on anything. "Wutai is only inviting war. We could level their island in a few months if we wanted to. Is that what they want?" he grumbled.

Scarlet had a little more interest in anything Hojo could suggest that might have to do with weaponry, but even she wasn't very happy that he'd been called into the conference room. "Maybe they don't care, as long as they take _us_ down in the process. I'd rather save Midgar and let Wutai live than to see both places destroyed."

"Are you doubting the military's ability to crush their puny island?" Heidegger barked, pounding a fist into the table top.

The president made a gesture with his hands to stop any heightenings of frustration around him. "I can't say I have much faith in Tseng like my son seems to have, but none the less…I want him back in Midgar. Heidegger, make sure _all_ your men know not to hunt him down. Reno, you and Rude fly a helicopter into Cosmo Canyon and bring him back. I don't trust anyone else right now."

"Yes, sir," the pair of Turks said in unison, not too enthusiastically either.

Rufus towered over his father from behind. "You see? One minute you're condemning a man who can save us to death, then another minute you're singing praises of him and rolling out the red carpet to get him back!" he barked at his stubborn father.

Jonathan Shinra swung his arm and hit his son across the face. Rufus stumbled back a few steps and into the wall.

"Well, had _you_ not withheld such information!" the president hissed. "I'm going to have my eye on you, _and_ that Wutanese Turk for a while once he gets back." He turned back to the congregation in the conference room. "You all have your orders. Leave!"

Reno narrowed his eyes in disgust at the president for striking his son so hard, and in front of the other executives. There was little he could do, however. Cosmo Canyon was a few hours' flight away, and the helicopter hadn't even been prepared yet. As soon as they were out in the hallway, he got on the cell phone with the military flight staff that maintained and prepared the Turks' aerial transportation to get a helicopter ready.

He and Rude were able to stop by their offices for supplies and armament they'd need while away.

Elena and Rod intercepted Reno and Rude in the hallway outside Tseng's office.

"Soldiers have found a curious discovery in the area that the Leviathan summon appeared outside of Sector 6," Elena said, sensing they were in a rush and therefore cutting to the chase.

"If it's an immediate threat, report it to Heidegger or Rufus," Rude said, pushing past the junior Turks and into Tseng's office as though he didn't care.

Reno watched Rude go but hung around a while longer as it would not take him as long to pack his things (thus hardly a wonder why most of his suits were a bit wrinkled.) "What did they find…briefly…" he started walking to his own office, the junior Turks at his heels.

"There's a…ghost…or something," Elena continued.

"It appears and disappears intermittently," Rod added. "No real pattern to it, and the being seems rather distressed. Those who got a good look at it say that it looks like a Wutanese man in robes."

"Do you think it could be Tseng?"

"No!" Reno said, barreling into the closet of his office to grab a change of clothes to load haphazardly into his duffel bag. "We're off to get Tseng right now. He's still it Cosmo Canyon, or so we last knew. Leviathan was Wutai's doing, and Rufus thinks that Tseng might be able to help thwart any further attacks. I guess it's lucky he's somehow managed to convince his stubborn mule of a father of it as well, otherwise the military would still be hunting the boss like an animal." He piled a pair of shoes into the bag, on top of the extra suit that wasn't even neatly folded or anything.

"Should any Turks be sent to the scene, just in case Heidegger's troops try to mess with it before it can be studied…or what ever Shinra wants to do about it?" Rod asked.

"Yeah, fine. Elena, you and Klaus head there. Rod, notify Hojo cuz I'm sure it's something right up his crooked alley. You're in charge of things while we're away. If the president or Rufus require body guards or security services anywhere, use your best judgment. Anything out of the ordinary happens, call me or Rude. Don't try to contact Tseng until we get to him first and let you know."

"Yes, sir!" Elena and Rod saluted Reno as the red-head went for his weapons closet to arm himself with materia and a pair of handguns for the trip. His Electro-Mag Rod was holstered at his side as always and didn't need special packing.

Rude came out of Tseng's office carrying an extra bag full of things the Turk leader may require as well as one of his own. The duo made it to the elevators and their express-service key cards allowed them non-stop passage to the top floor of the Tower where their helicopter awaited.

_To Be Continued..._

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


	8. Chapter 8

_The Legendary Titans of Gaia  
By: Zeng Li_

_Chapter Eight:  
"Borrowed Souls"_

_Notes on this fic and the Junior Turks:_

_1. The ONLY "Before Crisis" Turks I'm using are Rod and Klaus. Rod is the one with reddish hair that resembles Reno, and Klaus is the male with the black and gray hair. Elena is ELENA, from FF7…not the blonde BC girl. I assume that she was a junior Turk 3 years before FF7 and gets promoted in-game._

_2. This fic is VERY alternate-universe and does not conform rigidly to FF7 or any of its related games/movies. Though I do pull common themes and places, as the author, I have taken creative license in making a fic that exists "apart" from the cannon FF7 events._

_3. If these fics are difficult to read, they are ALSO posted on my personal website…see address in my profile page._

_4. FYI – the Master Eye is not the same as the Third Eye. The Master Eye goes a step beyond the Third Eye (which everyone has) and is more focused and stronger than the Third Eye. It is actually located to the left and right of the Third Eye in the form of 2 "eyes" (one above each eyebrow.) People possessing such an "eye" are usually mystics or clairvoyants. The mysticism in this fic is based on real beliefs, but are modified for fiction use._

- - -

Reno chucked his cargo into the back of the helicopter just as the aircraft was cleared by the pre-flight inspection. Rude climbed into the pilot's seat, not even asking if Reno objected to him being the one to fly the 6-hour over-seas mission. The aircraft launched from the top-level platform of the main tower, quickly clearing the darkened skies over the city of Midgar.

Reno looked out the side window. Kalm was off in the distance to starboard. Reno adjusted his focus and could see his subtle reflection in the glass.

"I haven't seen the boss since…since before our mission to Wall Market," Reno mused aloud, speaking clearly so Rude could hear him through the headsets over the loud rotor blades spinning above.

Rude was silent. It was no surprise since he wasn't one to partake in reminiscence.

Reno saw the distinctive glint of mako eyes look back at him from the glass. "I suppose he knows what they did to me. I'm…still trying to get used to it myself."

"He knows," Rude said, more out of obligation than anything. His tone didn't offer Reno any sort of sympathy or compassion to go along with his strange feelings. Reno took it as a hint to stop.

The scenery continued to pass under them until it was eventually the large expanse of the ocean all the way to the horizon. Reno slouched a little and closed his eyes.

- - -

Tseng felt himself awaken…or at least he felt like he was awake. He sat up in bed. Looking around, he saw the temporarily familiar surroundings of his room at the inn in Cosmo Canyon. The first pre-dawn rays of sunlight were starting to wash out the stars of the eastern sky. His weightless-feeling body conformed to the laws of gravity as it stood up, but the convincing façade of true awakeness revealed itself as a farce as the walls around him dissolved. The illuminated glyphs he'd seen the day before once again appeared before his eyes, recreating the tunnel leading to the red-floored chamber where he'd astrally met Ifrit.

His astral feet glided him back into the chamber, this time alone. There was no threat of fiends on this journey, for it occurred outside of ordinary reality.

The tunnel let out into the familiar chamber, the glow of small glyphs fading behind him. This time, the chamber was dark, illuminated now by only the faintest of crimson light. The solid-materia floor was dimmed too, as if in observance of the night-fall in the physical world.

For a chamber housing the essence of the spiritual element of Fire, the place felt a little cold.

One by one, small torches built into the rock wall lit up. They continued to light a gentle fire in a clockwise pattern until they were all illuminated. The dozen or so small flames provided just enough light to see by. There was a lone figure kneeling in the center of the red disc that made up most of the floor in the room. Tseng walked closer, his footsteps now seeming solid enough that each one made sound that echoed off the hollow room's walls.

The crouched figure was human, dressed in a simple tunic and pants with draw-strings. His sandals looked well worn.

As Tseng approached, the man straightened his back and stood up, still facing the far wall instead of the visitor.

_Who are you?_ Tseng asked rather bluntly, but it was necessary.

_There are two sides of every element,_ the man said. _Passive, like the flickering flames of a candle._

Tseng thought of the torches surrounding the room. Enough for light, but not much for heat nor hostility. He nodded.

_And active…_

The walls around them seemed to give off a beastly growl that echoed off the circular chamber so the sound surrounded them. A ghostly image of Ifrit appeared on the wall opposite the passage in, flames of a hellish inferno rising up around him. The image soon faded, but a waft of hot air washed through the chamber. Tseng squinted his eyes as it hit him, a reaction to fire that only his physical body needed to be concerned with.

_So, you are…?_

_I am Ifrit, _the young man turned around. A red gem on his forehead glowed bright with the orange-red flames of Fire, contained and hidden within the walls of the mystic symbol and under total control.

What a difference from the hell beast Tseng and the rest of the world was accustomed to! But at the same time, it seemed to make sense to the Turk on a higher level.

_I understand,_ Tseng said, bowing slightly. _Without passive to balance the active, or active to balance the passive…there would be chaos._

_Yes. That is why you see me as a man. _The glowing gem in the center of the young man's forehead divided. The replicated gems split apart and moved to the sides of the forehead an inch above the man's eyebrows. They turned sideways into eye-like slits that remained glowing red.

As that happened, Tseng could feel the activation of similar third and fourth eyes in the same areas of his own forehead.

_Do you know why Tseng Wulong of Wutai was cast out of the land he was born in?_

Life had a way of directing itself, and people rarely ever looked at the deeper Why.

_It's because you contain the elemental alignment of Fire,_ said the human Ifrit. _Water controls Fire and drives it away. Wutai as a nation is primarily Water-aligned, so it cast out Fire. You are but one who this has happened to._

Tseng nodded in a shallow bow. _It makes sense. In a way, that's how it feels._

_Yes, but Water controlling Fire is but one way that balance is achieved. Active Water douses passive Fire. But…active Fire evaporates passive Water, turning it to the control of the element Air. So, it is only a one-sided myth that humanity has acknowledged…that Water always wins over Fire. As you can see, Fire can still conquer Water. It's why Water is so afraid of Fire and attempts to drive it out. Unless Fire goes active, it can not defeat Water._

Tseng dropped to one knee before the human incarnation of the demi-god. His human eyes closed, but his Master Eyes remained open and could still see all around him. _So, I can still save Midgar from the invading forces of Wutai and the Temple of New Light?_

The human Ifrit changed shape and grew. Hell beast replaced human, and the heat of Fire warmed the room as the Aeon's body activated the Fire within.

_No,_ said the deep, thunderous voice of the hell beast. _YOU can not save Midgar. The battle is not really between human and human. It is between the Elements. Water is rising to the occasion where Midgar has allowed most its attunement to nature to go forgotten…to fall into disorganized chaos. Water was once defeated on its home turf by the elemental harmony that used to bind Midgar. Now, it sees an opening and has made itself ready and available through the Wutanese mystics who have devoted their lives to mastering its power. They unite materia to focus the energy and amplify it. Midgar has already seen the results in your absence._

Tseng wasn't comfortable with the thought that perhaps Midgar's fate rests solely on him. He was no Sephiroth. But Ifrit could tell he was concerned with his feelings.

_It's not you who will neutralize the elemental forces attacking Midgar. It's me who will._

Tseng opened his human eyes and looked up at the fiery beast. Upon seeing the demon, he could feel the hot fires burning so close to him, forcing him to close his human eyes once again. His Master Eyes could see, but would not trick the mind into feeling the heat. _Then what am I to do?_

_You are but a vessel. Humans summon elements using materia. Elements manifest through human intervention. When Water has been re-balanced, you will lose the piece of me that is in you. You may lose your ability to summon or cast magic without materia. You will be ordinary again, as will the mages from Wutai, if any of them survive the battle._

_If any of THEM survive…but what about me?_

_You must survive, too. Just remember the power of active Fire. Water will be active in battle as well, but I am your ally for now._

Tseng stood up. His foot faltered, and gravity seemed to press down on him once again. He felt a bit dizzy, and in a sense, he felt himself fall…

…only to end up startled awake in his room at the inn.

He gasped, eyes wide open. Through the window, he could see the first few rays of the coming sun wash out the stars in the eastern sky.

- - -

Klaus stopped his motorcycle outside a perimeter of Shinra helicopters and trucks that had congregated on the spot thought to be where the Temple of New Light mage or mages had been when they Grand Summoned the Wutanese deity, Leviathan. Elena pulled next to him and shut the engine off, dropping her riding goggles down around her neck.

Hojo and as assembly of scientists were already on the scene. Some were using sensory materia and others used electronic devices to attempt to detect energies of a nature a little beyond the junior Turks' expertise.

Klaus reached for one of his hand-guns. "Hmm, not really sure if our weapons can do much of anything. They said it's a…ghost or something," he shrugged.

"Don't shoot at anything that isn't there," Elena cautioned. "If a bullet hits one of Hojo's scientists…well, I'd guess we'd have Hojo, Heidegger, Tseng, and probably Rufus to answer to. Scratch any hopes of promotion, you know…?"

Klaus put the gun back in its holster. "Shinra seems to be taking this rather seriously. Guess the least we can do is stick around and collect our pay."

A small cluster of white-coated scientists all at once backed away as a semi-translucent apparition appeared. Hojo, however, didn't flinch. He merely adjusted his glasses and leaned forward a bit, curiously observing the appearance of the Wutanese man.

"As I suspected…" he said as the figure wavered a bit, fading and growing more solid at irregular intervals.

_My Lord…where are you!_ the figured cried in a hollow voice that buzzed through the air like a shaky television transmission.

"He doesn't seem to see us," Hojo said turning to face a less timid scientist who'd walked a little closer. "Lord must mean the emperor, ruler or what ever Wutai calls that man…"

"Godo, sir?"

"Yeah, yeah… Hmmm…" Hojo stepped forward as the ghostly apparition faded again until he was standing right where the figure appeared to be.

"What's that crackpot doing?" Klaus asked, observing Hojo's seemingly reckless approach to investigating.

"The deities summoned by materia are life force patterns etched into the Life Stream from long ago." Hojo clasped his hands behind his back and paced the vicinity slowly. "They exist, but on another plane of reality. When one is summoned, the magician taps into that invisible Life Stream and calls forth the energy of the being. They, too, phase from the material world we call reality and temporarily transition into the other plane, sometimes becoming invisible or unaffected by the environment or elemental forces around them, thus being protected from the destructive energy of that which they summoned."

Elena shook her head and cocked and eyebrow. Klaus shrugged. "Yeah, me too," he said, making a similar face in response to Hojo's somewhat confusing rambling.

"It's a myth…that one can be trapped between realities," Hojo continued, not really talking to anyone in particular as was often the case with the things that came out of his mouth. "Or it was…since no one's ever observed it happening before." He turned to a small group of men in lab coats. "This appears to be the first actual case. I want this area sectioned off from the public and guarded by soldiers at all times while we investigate further. You! Turks!" his glasses flashed bright white as he shifted his gaze.

"Oh, _now_ he notices us…" Elena grumbled.

"If the magician materializes, take him alive and bring him back to my lab in the tower."

_Godo-dono! _ A cry sounded in the mage's voice, his image flickering briefly. _Bring me back!_

The transparent image faded again.

"Baby-sit a ghost?" Klaus muttered, his voice conveying annoyance. "Is that in the job description?"

Hojo pulled something out of his coat pocket and shifted his attention. "Interesting that one of these would show up again. Here I thought it was a useless experiment, or even a hoax…" He turned the bracelet over in his hand, thoroughly examining that which two weeks ago the president had shrugged off. There were three orbs of materia in the bracelet, all of which were the red materia of summoning. "Perhaps materia will bring the mage back to the physical world," he mused aloud, turning back to the now empty space that the ghost had appeared in. "Or, maybe it will banish him to the life stream."

The scientist paced slowly, heading in the general direction of a parked helicopter either by chance or deliberate. The Turks weren't happy about the assignment and could only hope that the senior staff would soon return.

- - -

Reno and Rude looked up at the mountainous formation above them. Two hundred feet above and perched on the plateau was the bon-fire illuminated city of Cosmo Canyon. The arid conditions of the valley below reminded them of a desert without sand. Rude backed one of the motorcycles out of the cargo hold of the helicopter while Reno cleaned the shaded lenses of his riding glasses.

"This is why I hate coming to this place. Transportation in and out is primitive unless you bring your own wheels," Reno said, sliding the tinted side-shield glasses over his eyes. It was mid-day over the valley, and the trail up to the plateau was a 30-minute drive by motorbike.

"Hmph…" Rude looked at him, set to tend to his own bike instead of taking Reno's out for him.

"The boss still ain't answering his phone," Reno said, climbing back into the helicopter. "We have no way to know if he's still here, or even alive for that matter."

"If SOLDIER found him, we would know by now," Rude hoisted his backpack over his shoulders then mounted the bike.

Reno put the kickstand of his down and retrieved the extra fuel cells they'd be carrying, securing them into the saddle bags attached to the rear of his bike. "I just hope he _wants_ to come back with us. If he's been acting as weird as they're talking about back at Shinra…"

Rude started the engine of his bike, mostly to shut Reno up and to signal his interest in going and getting back as soon as they could. Reno mounted his and started it up, riding off behind Rude as they began the ascent to Cosmo Canyon.

Their uneventful ride brought them to the farthest spot they could go before reaching the village itself. It was a spacious depot for vehicles that shuttled visitors and students to and from the town. Chocobos could be accommodated in hour- and day-rate stables, and a parking area was available for short-term visitors to leave their vehicles, which were not permitted across the plank bridge and into the village.

"Shinra's Turks!" a guard yelled as soon as he spotted them walking across the wooden bridge. The constable and a few guards hurried to the bridge where it ended at the entrance to the remote town.

Reno squinted his eyes and lazily turned his head. Rude just slowly shook his head and kept walking. Their heavy boot steps didn't slow or falter as they continued on towards the human blockade, spears and bows poised for possible action.

"How did Tseng ever get in here?" Reno mused aloud. "They're not very friendly here today."

"Stop right there!" said the constable, walking out a few meters onto the bridge, his guards still behind him. His hand gripped a small gun he pulled from his belt.

Reno and Rude stopped, casually regarding the unnecessary attention they were receiving. "Aren't visitors welcomed to this place, to study planetary life and other forms of enlightenment?" Reno raised his voice so the armed greeters could hear him.

"This place is getting a bit over-run with Turks lately," said the constable, his gun aimed at Reno's chest as he drew nearer. "State your business."

Reno rolled his eyes and looked over at Rude. "If you let us in to do what we have to, you'll be rid of not only us by night fall, but also one other Turk that you seem to think constitutes a swarm," Rude told the constable in his deep, steady voice.

The constable halted two meters in front of them. "Master Bugenhagen allowed Tseng here, and we've been informed that until told otherwise, we're to help protect him from his enemies."

"We're not his enemies…" Reno laughed. "He's our boss!"

The constable sharply raised his gun at Reno, his teeth clenched. "SOLDIER, Shinra, the Turks…we know they've all been ordered after him, and even though I don't have to like it, Master Bugenhagen's orders are orders…"

"We don't have time for this…" Reno said, right before springing high into the air, leaping over the constable's head as Rude shot forward and ripped the weapon out of the officer's hand. The agile red-head Turk could see the pair of archers draw back their bows. His hand reached into his pocket, rapidly flinging a pyrotechnic incendiary device at the feet of the guards positioned at the end of the bridge. The small grenade went off with a pop and a flash as Reno charged forward, his mako-enhanced eye sight dulling the effect of the bright flash and allowing him to continue forward and through the scattering blockade of men.

Rude held the constable's own gun to the officer's head, his other arm tightly restraining him as the Turk used him as a shield. "We're not here to harm anyone, not even one of your own," Rude said as he forced the officer to walk back towards his men.

Reno slid to a halt fifty feet behind the disorganized group of guards. He turned and watched his partner for a second before realizing that he had trouble approaching from the rear. His reflexes kicked in, and he ducked down as a halberd was slashed in a horizontal arc at him. He tackled the running guard's legs, lifting them up and dumping the man over him and onto the stony ground. The next guard had an unfamiliar weapon resembling a bladed tonfa. Reno had his electro-mag rod out and extended, ready to block as if he were holding a sword.

"Call off your men!" Rude hissed into the constable's ear, his one arm's grip tightening around his prisoner hard enough to stress a few bones to the aching point.

"I can't…Elder's orders…"

Reno deflected the weapon being slashed at him, grabbing the attacker's free arm and swinging his leg around for a high kick into the center of the man's back. The guard's shoulder loosened as the joint was wrenched out of it's socket. Reno casually let him go, the man collapsing to the dusty ground and dropping his weapon. Reno turned to the lancer who'd come at him before, poised for another go-round.

"You should have just let us pass…" said the younger Turk.

"I can't…let you go," said the constable. "Not after this…" He watched as other guards defended their fallen comrade. Other armed guards converged on the entrance.

"You're finding out the hard way what the Turks are capable of," Rude told him.

"Well, go ahead then…shoot me…"

Rude kneed him to get him to walk forward more without continued resistance. They were almost to the end of the bridge. "It's not my intent," said the bald Turk.

"Then you're a coward, using me as a shield!" His feet stepped off the bridge and onto the rocky ground. Rude let him go and pushed him.

"Just doing my job," he extended his arm, holding the barrel of the gun, offering it back to its original owner. The constable just looked at it. Behind him, he heard a snap of electricity followed by a scream from one of his men.

"All we want is Tseng," Reno whirred around, checking for anyone else daring to take him on in a fight. His electro-mag rod crackled with energy as it fully recharged for another elemental strike.

"Guards, put down your weapons!" called a voice…that of Elder Bugah.

The constable turned to the elder before he was able to reclaim his gun from the Turk. His officers turned to the elder as well. Reno set his weapon to uncharge, and his fighting stance relaxed a little bit as well.

Along side him was Bugenhagen, and behind them both was a weary looking Wutanese man with the black spot on his forehead.

"Tseng!" Reno hurried towards them, only to be blocked by the crossing of soldiers' spears in front of him. He halted against them, fighting back his instinct to dispatch the enemies. "Tseng…? You haven't actually defected, have you?" he asked.

Tseng halted and dropped his rucksack. The elders walking in front of him stopped as well. The Turk leader shook his head slowly, his eyes closed and head tilted slightly downward. Reno didn't like the somber expression, and it agonized him to have to wait for further explanation.

"I have not defected, Reno," Tseng said mildly, his eyes still closed to the mid-day sun. "I have new orders, but they haven't come from Shinra."

It didn't seem to make sense. Reno fidgeted, wanting nothing more to get past the guards' blockade.

"Shinra would be best off letting me carry them through. I know what Wutai is up to, and I know what it'll take to dismantle their attempts to avenge their defeat from the war," Tseng's eyes opened slowly, and incompletely. His coal black eyes looked shallow.

"What…? What's wrong?" Reno asked. "_Something's _wrong…! I know it…"

"It's nothing…" Tseng said, walking past the elders.

As if receiving a silent command, the guards withdrew their spears, and Reno immediately sprinted forward between them and up to his boss. He put a hand on Tseng's chest, and another across the Wutanese man's shoulders. Rude practically shoved the gun back into the constable's hands and hurried past him and to his commanding officer.

Tseng closed his eyes and let his head nod downwards. Rude walked past him and retrieved his rucksack. Tseng looked up, his dark eyes again opening to the day time sun.

"Gods…didn't you get any rest while you were here?" Reno asked, trying to invigorate him with a gentle shake. "We brought the bikes cuz we can't land a helicopter up here."

Rude caught up to them, shrugging his backpack off and putting it and Tseng's bag down on the ground. He pulled a wide vial out of his sack and handed it to Tseng. "Drink this. I brought some along just in case. You can rest on the flight back to Midgar."

Tseng drank the smooth liquid, like he'd done in the past. Rude was always kind enough to add some fruit flavors to his medicinal tonics to prevent them from tasting like chemicals. "There's no time to rest until Wutai is driven back."

"Too bad," said Reno. "We're heading back to the chopper then over to Shinra 26 to refuel and spend the night. Please don't make Rude _force _you to get some rest…"

"We don't have time for that! If you guys need rest, _I_ can fly us back to Midgar…assuming they aren't going to greet me with weapons drawn…"

Rude packed his empty vial away and carried both his and Tseng's packs as they made their way back to the bridge out of Cosmo Canyon.

Reno loosened his supportive grip on Tseng. "Nah…Rufus told his dad everything, and the order has been withdrawn. He's as anxious to get you back as you are to return to us." He turned to the cluster of guardsmen standing to the side of the end of the bridge, some of them still smarting from the scuffle with the young Turk earlier. "Sorry 'bout all than, man…" he told them, shrugging. "Just doin' my job…"

_To Be Continued..._

Author's notes: IF ANYTHING IN THIS FIC SEEMS CONFUSING, REFER TO THE INFORMATION LOCATED AT THE START OF CHAPTERS 1 AND 7 FOR CLARIFYING INFORMATION.

An original story based on characters from Final Fantasy VII © 1997 Squaresoft Ltd. Characters used without permission. No money is made off of this fic. Written by Zeng Li. © 2005.


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